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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/27419902">Blood On Empty Pages</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/gaynarwals/pseuds/gaynarwals'>gaynarwals</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>BnHA, mha, 僕のヒーローアカデミア | Boku no Hero Academia | My Hero Academia</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Abuse, Angst, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Childhood Trauma, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/F, Implied/Referenced Rape/Non-con, LGBT, Original Characters - Freeform, Psychological Trauma, Quirkism, Slow Burn, Threats of Violence, Torture, Violence, mha - Freeform, mha villain au - Freeform, my hero acadamia au, my hero acadamia villain au, my hero au, villain AU</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-11-06</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-03-19</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-06 23:29:25</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Mature</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>30</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>84,976</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/27419902</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/gaynarwals/pseuds/gaynarwals</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Boep is on hiatus rn do to a family issue i am dealing with. Boep will update regularly once my free time returns! Sorry for this inconvenience.</p><p>when heroes do as much damage as the villians whos to say the real bad guys are? ghost writer  doesnt see a difference, armed with the powers she believes were given to her by the gods she ignites the fires between the hero commision and the civilians. with her followers behind her she attempts to create a new world order so the next generation can live without fear. is she the villain? or is it the heroes chasing her.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>14</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. The Rally</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>On a calm night when everything seemed still, hundreds gathered in an abandoned factory. Some young, some old, some wanted change and others something to believe in. The factory, though abandoned, was in the middle of the city and surprisingly hard to find. No one was given a map or directions. Instead they were told to meet on Hiro Street. A hero or two fearing riots tried to find the tell but eventually gave up. The ones who were “invited” knew to bring a small black light. When shined on signs and buildings it would reveal arrows that lead the way. </p><p>Another group makes it to the door. They're all wearing masks, a precaution they hoped they wouldn't have to take, but they feared what being caught would lead to. The factory was almost completely cleared of equipment and heavy machinery leaving essentially a very large room. In front of what seemed to be thousands of people was a cement stage. Despite being built quickly it looked smooth and made with care. Many people stood arm and arm near the back of the stage. Behind them on the wall were large banners that resembled Almights smile turned into a frown with the words, “you weren't there." printed in a large font, similar to UAs logo. Once everyone who seemed to be coming had arrived the doors were shut. A tall woman steps onto the stage. She wears a white turtle neck with dark slacks and a long grey trench coat, her face is covered by a black mask with sharp white teeth. She runs her fingers through her hair  while taking a deep breath. A young man with curly hair runs on stage and hands her a small square microphone and dashes away. She pulls down her mask and begins.</p><p>“Once Upon A Time”</p><p>The crowd bursts into shouts of excitement, most have been following the young woman for a while. When she spoke she did something to those in her presence. A giant book appeared behind her and opened its pages, everything she said would be typed there for everyone to see.</p><p>“Once upon a time everyone who chose to attend my rally as a listener fell silent.” Instantly, the room that was once filled with roaring cheers was silent. So silent you could hear the breathing of those even in the very back of the crowd. </p><p>“My name is Ghost writer. My real name is irrelevant. You all came here because you want justice, change, and freedom!” The crowd begins to stomp its feet in agreement.</p><p>“For too long have we allowed heroes to dominate our society. It's hard enough dealing with their cockyness, their need for fame, their recklessness, idiocy, violence and the blatant propaganda but they didn't stop there. For years UA has been training child soldiers and sending them to war!” </p><p>A young woman steps onto the stage, she holds a clipboard filled with what looks like too many papers. She pulls out a photo of a young boy and hands it to Ghost. They hold the photo up, a drone flies out and projects the photo onto the ceiling so everyone can see. </p><p>“We were all painfully unaware of the overhaul incident. However, thanks to the hacking skills of Parker we have gained the knowledge of what went down. Overhaul, a yakuza boss, had developed a drug that could erase someone's quirk.” Though no one in the audience could speak, fear filled everyone's eyes. Well, at least the ones with quirks. </p><p>“The heroes launched a mass attack on their bunker, enlisting heroes from several agencies, police, and children. When I say children I don't mean the students close to graduating, I mean literal children. Just wee lads, freshmen. I don't know what's more cruel, the fact they were sent on this mission in the first place or that they were the ones that defeated a majority of the villains as the heroes watched in fear.”</p><p> “That child.” She shouts, pointing to the ceiling, “He defeated overhaul with a six year old girl tied to his back! These things shouldn't be allowed to happen! Not a single hero helped him!”</p><p>Ghost takes a deep breath to steady their shaking voice, "And at that moment the crowd regains their ability to speak."</p><p>Instantly the crowd breaks out into a sea of cries and screams . If it was not for one of Ghosts followers who had a sound proofing, quirk people would've heard the rally for miles. People shouted in anger and disgust. Many just shouted AHAV, an acronym created by Ghost. It stands for 'All Heroes Are Villains'.</p><p>During this rally on the other side of the city at one of the hero agencies, a new recruit is called into the head hero's office. She was about average height; she wore a baggy jumpsuit that stopped before her knees, and a bulky mask over her face. </p><p>“Yes sir,” she asks as she creeps into his office.</p><p>Without even looking up from the papers he continued, “Have you gone on any patrols yet?”</p><p>“No sir.”</p><p>“How long have you lived in this city?”</p><p> </p><p>“Only a few months.”</p><p>“So no one would recognize you out of costume?”</p><p>“I mean, my neighbors... “</p><p>“Do they know you're a pro?”</p><p>“I don’t know.”</p><p>The man takes a deep breath, picks up his papers and stands up, “Good enough.” he says as he hands the papers through the door to his sidekick. “I want you ‘off duty'.”<br/>
The young woman was now filled with anxiety, it had only been three days since she signed on. “W, wh-, what d-do you mean?”</p><p>“On paper you're going on medical leave due to a small workplace incident. Off book I want you undercover.”</p><p>She sighed in relief, “Oh okay.”</p><p>“Have you heard of Ghost writer?”</p><p>“No, I can't say I have.” The sidekick walks into the room and hands him a thick folder which he hands to the woman. </p><p>“Everything you need to know is in here, don't step foot back into this office until you know if they are a threat or not. I want you to find, infiltrate, and report back. In the folder is a number. Get a burner phone, keep in contact. Go change and leave out the back. Multi will bring you a hoodie.”</p><p>“Um, okay.” She tried to hide how confused this entire interaction made her, was she even qualified for a mission like this? Regardless of her feelings she did as she was told. She walked down to the lowest floor and into the changing room. She left behind her hero costume and put on the street clothes she had worn this morning. As she stepped out Muti, a secretary for that agency, handed her a thick black hoodie. </p><p>“Does it fit okay? I guessed at the measurements so if it's too snug I can make another one!”</p><p>She slid on the hoodie, it was a little big but that's how she liked them. “No it's perfect, thank you.”</p><p>They both exchanged friendly banter before Multi’s expression saddened a little and she quickly left. “Be careful Max!” she shouted as she rushed up the stairs. Max was concerned by this but shook it off as just her anxiety. </p><p>She put up her hood and exited through the back door. She didn't live too far from the agency so it only took her about half an hour to walk home. She was greeted by the old woman who lived next door, Ms. Ota. After a quick exchange of casual greetings Max went inside. </p><p>Her apartment wasn't too big but it wasn't too small, at least she didn't feel cramped. She took off the hoodie and her shoes. She walks to the kitchen and sets the bulky folder on the counter before making a fresh pot of coffee. Though it isn't too late something about homework always makes her tired. </p><p>A fresh cup of coffee in hand and a pile of research she sits on her bed. One big gulp later she sets her mug on the night stand and opens the folder and pulls out all the papers. On the first sheet are several photos of Ghost. They are mostly motion blurred, it's clear they were unaware they were being watched. In every photo Ghost is wearing the same thing: a white turtleneck, black slacks, and a grey trench coat. They also wore a black face mask with sharp white teeth printed on them. Below the photos was her quirk explanation. </p><p>It read ‘according to eyewitness statements we have determined she has a mind-control-like quirk. A book will appear behind her when she speaks the words 'Once Upon A Time'. We are unaware if it can be used as a shield. Seems open to rear attacks.’</p><p>Below this are rough police sketches. </p><p>The following pages are rough recounts of speeches and people seen with and around Ghost. They were over detailed and overall a bore. Max always hated when people, rather than admitting information was scarce, they word-vomit irrelevant things into the report in hopes it would seem like they worked harder. </p><p> </p><p>For the next few days Max did her best to insert herself in anti hero spaces. She joined chat rooms dedicated to Stain and his ideologies. She went to meet ups, support groups, even talked to strangers in a small cafe she visited often, Wayward.  </p><p>She sat at the counter sipping her tea as she talked to a young boy. He had written AHAV on his wrist. He was very anxious and kept fidgeting. When Mikki, the cafe owner, noticed this she stepped in.</p><p>“Aiko! Are you alright?” she asked softly as she sets her tray in the sink behind. He looks up distressed and immediately gets up and goes through a door Max hadn't noticed before. </p><p>“I'm sorry I didn't mean to scare him, I just saw him writing AHAV on his wrist, it's refreshing to see young ones interested in politics.” </p><p>There was a long pause, Max suddenly found it hard to swallow. </p><p>“I wish he wasn't.” She pulls out a rag to wipe the counter where he was sitting. </p><p>“Shouldn't we encourage that sort of thing?” </p><p>Mikki sighs, “I feel like in our world kids should get a bit more freedom of bliss before they have to be scared of heroes” </p><p>Max takes a sip of her tea, “I suppose.”<br/>
Mikki puts on a smile, “Can I get you anything else?"</p><p>“Actually, I have a question. That boy ran to the back. Is this cafe also an inn? I could actually use a place to stay.”</p><p>“Oh no it's not, I just help babysit some of the older kids while their parents are away but, hold on...” Mikki walks away and comes back with a small sheet of paper and what appears to be a pen. "Here.”</p><p>She hands Max a small flyer. Max recognized the symbol from the sketches in her file. The frowning face with the words ‘You weren't there!’</p><p>“Have you been to any of the rallies?” she leans in and whispers. </p><p>“No, I haven't but i've heard of them.” </p><p>Mikki clicks the pen and signs the flyer. “Try to get to Ghost. If you're stopped just show them this.” she twists the pen revealing a small black light. “Go to masswell drive and shine the light on the 3rd stop sign. It will show you the way.” </p><p>Max nods and puts the flyer and pen into her coat pocket. The second Mikki leaves to wait on another person she places her money on the counter and leaves. Once out of the cafe she starts hyperventilating. She did it, she was afraid, and frankly she was a little afraid of Mikki. She thought she was made, unless this was a trap. That thought made it suddenly harder to breathe.  </p><p> </p><p>That night, despite all of Max's fears, she went to Masswell drive and walked down the road until she got to the 3rd stop sign and shined the pen light up to it. On it appeared an arrow pointed left so she walked. She shined it on other signs, doors and even windows until she eventually made it to what looked like a run down office building. She shined her light on the first door she found. it read ‘Nock 6 times’ </p><p>She took a deep breath. Bang bang bang bang bang bang. She took a step back and after a few seconds the door opened. It was a very large man, he had a bald head and was covered in tattoos but he smiled like an old lady offering you sweets. Max couldn't help but smile back. She noticed he was wearing very pretty black earrings. They were upside down crosses, if Max was religious she might have been offended but she wasn't and simply complimented them. </p><p>“Oh these?” he asks tilting his head to show them off, “all the true followers wear at least one.” he placed his hand on her shoulder and led her inside down the hall. </p><p>“You know this is my first time coming to a rally, I'm a little nervous.” </p><p>“Oh don't be sweetheart, Ghost would never hurt a fly, not in these halls.” They turned at the corner as he opened a door. Behind was an elevator shaft. “Though I understand your fears, we meet in very sketchy places.” They step in and ride it down. It shakes a little and makes a screeching noise but something about this man made Max feel safe. </p><p>After what felt like 2 minutes they reached the final floor and it showed the vastness of the underground hall. To be honest she thought it looked more like a stadium. The shaking and screeching noise were almost drowned out completely by the cheers of the crowd. Max was in awe. </p><p>When they reached the bottom the man smiled, waved, and rode the elevator back up to the top. Max walked into the crowd, she tried her best to get closer to the stage but only managed to get about half way. Other than the location everything looks exactly as described in her report. The banners, the cement stage, the followers arm in arm.</p><p>After a little while the lights focus on the stage and Ghost steps onto it. Max's eyes widen. She's a lot taller than she thought, she walked with confidence, her eyeliner was pointed yet her eyes still looked kind. Ghost slowly pulls down her mask, she lets it rest on her chin.</p><p>She spoke the sacred words slowly, “Once Upon A Time,” she spreads her arms out as the cosmic book appears behind her and opens. The crowd roars. “The crowd fell silent.” </p><p>Losing the ability to speak startled her but if she was being honest it seems very handy in this line of work.</p><p>“My name is Ghost Writer! My real name does not matter. Many of you have followed me since day one! Many are new or have just recently become a follower. However, never once have I told my story. I've only ever amplified the voices of those too afraid or unable to shout.” </p><p>Her soft expression slowly fades into one full of sadness and betrayal, though Max was somewhere in the middle of the crowd, some distance from the stage, she could still see the pain that filled her eyes. </p><p>“Four years ago many of you may remember hearing about or experiencing the immortal incident, a devastating villain attack from a man who could rebuild his body from nothing even if he was completely destroyed he'd come back. The heroes knew he was going to attack but instead of evacuating they left the public in the dark as not to scare him away so they'd have a chance to catch him! I was 16 at the time, I remember seeing the first part of the fight on tv. Everyone heard that cursed line ‘I am here!’. It's because of him the sunrise apartment complex collapsed. He was reckless and sloppy and damaged to much of the lower portion of the building. It fully collapsed in what felt like seconds. I heard the explosions through the rubble but I couldn't move, I was pinned next to my mother. During the first day I listened to my mother apologize for everything she's ever done or said to me. On the second day I was laying in a pool of my mother's blood. On the third day I accepted I was going to die. And that's when I heard it. The voice of God!” </p><p>Max was startled as the crowd synced together to stomp their feet, she joined in cause why not. ‘I mean she was definitely hallucinating, I mean clearly. But that's okay, whatever keeps you fighting I guess.’  Max thought to herself.</p><p>“They said to me, ‘Child, be not afraid! Tell yourself a story.’ and I did. My whole life I was muted, and believed I was quirkless. But when I opened my mouth words came out!” the stomping got louder, “I told myself that three heroes decided to start clearing rubble where I was. After 2 hours I heard their voices! By the third hour I saw sunlight! Both my legs were broken, along with my left arm and several ribs. I was immediately handed to All Might. He smiled his big smile and let someone take a photo then passed me to someone else. He pulled me, a child! Out of rubble! With several broken bones! And before even bracing me or wrapping my wounds I was posed for a photo!” </p><p>At that moment Max understood, she understood the pain, it opened her eyes. If everyone here had a similar story to Ghosts then there was definitely a problem. Max never realized the privilege she had growing up in the countryside. Her only experience with heroes before she went to Seiai Academy was watching them on TV. There were more than a thousand people and they were all stomping. What horrors had they seen in this city.</p><p>“That is the problem with heroes. It's not about saving people, or doing good for 'goodness’ sake; it's about power, fame, money. It's never been about the people! Ever wonder why it's illegal for civilians to use their quirks in self defense? It's to keep us dependent on heroes!” </p><p>Max’s mind began to wonder and she suddenly realized why she was there. The heroes were afraid of Ghost, not because of her quirk, but because of her words. She was rallying the people behind her. With enough attention they could push for a complete reform. She didn't know what was scarier: Being a hero surrounded by victims, or being a hero that agrees with them. Ghost continued to speak but at this point Max was too caught up in her own mind to pay attention and before she noticed, Ghost began to exit the stage. She probably wouldn't have even noticed if it wasn't everyone regaining the ability to scream again. Even though she was beginning to side with the AHAV followers she couldn't lose sight of the reason she came here. </p><p>Max began to force her way through the crowd with all her might but couldn't and decided now was the time to activate her quirk, something she was trying to avoid until desperate times. Max had a special ability that made anything she said about herself true. Surprisingly like Ghost’s, but instead of manipulating others she manipulated herself. She decided to activate it in a fun way. “I can pass through people like a Ghost,” she says. A fun set back with her quirk is whatever she changes will take physical form in her mouth so she'll have to walk around with a wet ball of paper in her mouth until she gets to the front. Once she spits it out the power is gone. She walks effortly through the crowd and wonders why she just didn't do this from the start. She makes it to the very front and spits out the paper. </p><p>Max pulls out the signed flyer and shows it to the woman blocking her path. “I was told I would be able to speak with Ghost Writer!” </p><p>The woman looks over the paper and then Max. She recognizes her from the file, the woman in front of her was Parker, Ghost’s second in command. A tall and muscular woman with a half shaved head. She seemed to be covered in oil from head to toe. She hands the flyer back. </p><p>“Okay follow me,” Parker glances up at a drone from god knows where and follows closely behind Max with a small machine gun pointed at her head. “Don't take it personal, it's just in case.” </p><p>Max took a deep breath and whispers “I am made of rubber.” She swallowed the paper, a problem to worry about later. Luckily Parker didn't hear her. Nothing wrong with being prepared for the worst. </p><p>She was led through a door into a long hallway, with every step Max got a little more nervous. The hallway seemed endless. How big was this bunker, ‘I doubt they had the building clearance for this,’ she thought to herself. </p><p>Finally Parker stopped, they reached the end of the hall, Max looked around. “So um, where is Ghost Writer?” </p><p>Parker immediately slammed max into the wall. She has a tight grasp on Max but because Max is made of rubber she just kinda squishes. Parker ignores the weirdness and manages to keep a straight face. </p><p>“What the fuck is a pro hero doing at an AHAV rally wanting a private meeting with Ghost holding Mikki’s signature of all things?!” </p><p>Max’s eyes widened, what did she do wrong, how did she know, was she about to die? Her heart pounded nearly out of her chest and she lost the will to defend herself, her mind was running a mile a minute and she lost any brain cell that would tell her what to do. </p><p>“I- um, I…” This was Max's first real mission. She immediately forgot every ounce of training she's received over the years. </p><p>Both however are immediately distracted by the sound of snapping fingers. It was Ghost. They looked exactly as they did on stage but now their mask was pulled up. Parker turned to Ghost but moved her hand from Max's shoulder and to her throat. </p><p>Ghost began signing something but unfortunately Max didn't know sign language. </p><p>“I've caught a mole,” …. “She's a pro hero.” Max kept glancing at Ghosts' hands. ‘Why isn't she just speaking?’ she thought to herself. </p><p>“Of course I'm sure dumbass, some random woman has the audacity to walk up to me? Suspicious, so I hacked the hero database.” …… “She's a new recruit, only been on for a month but no word of her so we’re most likely her first mission.” An annoyed look spreads across Ghosts face and she begins to sign more aggressively. </p><p>“No.” … “I'm not letting her go.” …. “Fine, but she's your responsibility!” Parker lets go, Max immediately falls to ground gasping for air and coughing. She accidentally coughs up her paper and she loses her rubber powers. </p><p>“Fuck, man, I hadnt done anything!”</p><p>“Yet…” Parker snaps before walking away. </p><p>Ghost steps forward and kneels in front of max, she pulls a notepad and pen out of her back pocket and writes ‘why are you here?’ Before she can even think of an acceptable answer Ghost writes, ‘please don't lie. I can make you tell the truth if that's the direction you want to go in.’</p><p>Max swallows and evaluates her circumstances. She is alone with a stranger with a mind control quirk, in a bunker, and not a single soul knows she's there. It would be best to keep Ghost from activating their quirk. </p><p>“My name is Max Penalty, my hero name is Silver tongue. I was hired by the Hitojichi Investigations Agency. And this is, infact, my first mission. I was asked to determine if you were a threat. I'm sorry!” it's a miracle Max did not fumble her words with how fast she spoke.</p><p>‘What's your verdict, am I a threat?’ Max took a moment to think about this question and felt just a little calmer. “No, I don't think you are. A threat to our mindset yes, but not our lives. I actually think I agree with your message!” Ghost squinted her eyes, Max couldn't see her whole face but she assumed it was a smile. </p><p>Ghost stood up and helped her to her feet. ‘Please leave and never come back.’  Max let out a little chuckle until she realized Ghost was being serious. “Oh…” Max was escorted out of the building by that kind man she met earlier and continued to think of Ghost's words for the following weeks to come.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Wayward</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Immediately following Parker's interaction with Max she hunts down Sapphire, one of the higher ranking members. Parker has a very interesting quirk, she can break off fragments of her mind and have them function and think independently. With a complex device implanted on her brain stem and good wifi she can place her intelligence in as many drones as she chooses. She sent out a few to search for her friend. Sapphire is found leaned up against a wall flirting with a new recruit.</p><p>Sapphire isn't the tallest but she's probably the prettiest person you'll ever meet. Her eyes glow like gems, literally. Her big fluffy affro adds about two inches to her height. She has a lava quirk so you can see a faint orange glow through small cracks in her skin. It shines beautifully on her dark skin. She wore a black skin tight leotard that only emphasized her curves. She was quite breathtaking.</p><p>The drone hovered above and with a small click, a speaker popped up on the top. "Sapphire, I need you," Parker said through the drone. Sapphire only rolled her eyes. It turned toward the other girl, then back to Sapphire. "You know she's 16 right?"</p><p>An annoyed look spread across her face "Shit..." She walked away following the robot without saying goodbye, the girl who looked oh so broken hearted.</p><p>"I never knew you were a pedo."</p><p>Sapphire grabbed the drone out of the air and melted it in her hand, within a few seconds a second drone came to take its place.</p><p>"Rude."</p><p>"In my defence, she looked a lot older, okay!"</p><p>Sapphire eventually made it to the room where Parker was sitting, it was a small concrete room with a dusty old couch. "Alright, what's so important?"</p><p>The drone Sapphire followed hovered over to one of the blank walls and projected a picture of max. "A pro hero was here, she had mikki's signature. I want you to make sure she's okay"</p><p>Color drained from Sapphire's face "Oh my god."</p><p>Before Parker could give anymore information on the matter, Sapphire had already run out the room.</p><p>Meanwhile at the Wayward cafe Mikki was watching the handful of kids she took care of. Although she had told Max she just babysat, the truth was that she took care of a lot of the local kids, either orphaned or rescued from abusive households. After her mother passed, she took resposibility of Wayward. She took care of kids as young as 4 all the way up to 17. Kids were in and out but the ones who had been there the longest were: Aiko a young scruffy lad, he had trouble with extreme anxiety and ptsd, Hikaru, she'd look like any other teenager except because of her quirk she had a cat ears and a tail with a calico fur pattern, Blaine a very unpredictiable teenager, Axel a bit reserved but wild none the less, and a little girl named Momo, a frail little thing always seen with a big pink stuffed elephant.</p><p>Normally only the older kids would help out at the rallies but little momo had a nightmare and didn't wanna be at the cafe if mikki wasn't home. they all walked into the cafe absolutly exhausted.</p><p>"Okay, off to bed, it's almost 4am." She started to lock up the shop with little momo in her arms fast asleep, the other kids made their way upstairs. Mikki was about to follow when she heard banging on the glass door, it was Sapphire.</p><p>"Ahhhh stop banging stop banging," she rushed over to unlock the door. Sapphire immediately grabbed Mikki into a hug practically crushing Momo between them. After she let go, Sapphire grabbed her face.</p><p>"Oh thank god you're okay i was so worried you were hurt, and all the kids!" Sapphire took Momo out of Mikki's arms.</p><p>"What, why would I be hurt?" the two begin to walk up the stairs.</p><p>"A hero infiltrated the rally, they had your signature!"</p><p>Mikki stops halfway up the stairs and Sapphire stops and looks back at her. "This hero, she wouldn't have happened to be about 5'8, pail, fluffy black hair?"</p><p>"I actually have no idea I didn't ask, I was too worried about my baby momma," Sapphire chuckles and continues up the stairs.</p><p>After putting Momo to bed she joins Mikki in the common room. "Aren't you cold," Mikki asks, handing her a cup of tea.</p><p>"Why would I be cold?"</p><p>"Sapp, you're wearing a leotard, it's two degrees celsius outside."</p><p>"Okay and? Under my skin is a layer of magma, I'm incapable of being cold."</p><p>Mikki looks down at her tea, she's a little embarrassed. After all the time they've known each other she asked such a stupid question.</p><p>Sapphire leans in and kisses her on the cheek, "Dont worry, its okay that youre dumb."</p><p>Mikki's face goes red and she lets out a nervous chuckle.</p><p>"Oh!'' The sudden noise causes Mikki to jump. "I should probably call Parker and let her know you're all okay!"</p><p>Sapphire walks onto the terrace and dials parkers number. "They're alive."</p><p>"What?"</p><p>"Baby momma, and all the kids, they're okay!"</p><p>"Oh okay, can I talk to Mikki then?"</p><p>Sapphire waves through the glass door gesturing to her to come outside. Mikki slips her coat back on and walks out taking the phone.</p><p>"Uh hello?"</p><p>"Mikki," Parker says in a very annoyed tone.</p><p>"Yes?"</p><p>"Why did a pro hero have your signature?"</p><p>Sapphire leaned onto the railing and mouths the words "put it on speaker"</p><p>Mikki nodded, "what did she look like?"</p><p>"How do you know it's a she?"</p><p>"Fuck." she whispers, "okay in my defence. I didn't know she was a pro hero. She was just a scruffy young woman who supported the cause and needed somewhere to stay!"</p><p>"And you sent her to Ghost?!" she shouts making both mikki and sapphire jump.</p><p>"Who else would I send her too?"</p><p>"I don't know mikki, maybe yourself?! You own a cafe full of small hotel like rooms!"</p><p>Sapphire looks up, "she has a point."</p><p>"Don't agree with her, she's yelling at me!" Sapphire laughs as Mikki tries to hit her.</p><p>"Just, don't do it again," Parker shouts before hanging up the phone. The two walk back inside laughing.</p><p>"Why are you never on my side?"</p><p>"What do you mean? I'm always on your side!" Sapphire plops down on the large sofa followed by Mikki.</p><p>"Well," Mikki exaggerates her voice to sound like a snobby prince, "I'll just have to punish you next time!"</p><p>Sapphire leans in close, "oh really?" she pushes herself closer, "what are you gonna do to me baby momma?" sapphire's voice was low, she spoke softly as mikkis face went red.</p><p>"Can y'all stop being weird out in the open," Aiko says as he walks past them to the kitchen. He grabs a soda slamming the fridge door. "You're interrupting my special time."</p><p>Sapphire looks up, "That's gross man."</p><p>Aikos face goes red, "Not like that! I meant like my 'me time'! The wifi is always slow during the day 'cause of all the kids. So the only time I can watch anime is when everyone's asleep!" he shouts flustered. "Why do you have to make everything weird!"</p><p>The two laugh as Aiko goes back to his room slamming the door behind. "I should probably go talk to him, he knows my rules! Also, he should really be asleep!" She gently pushes sapphire off and stands up, "Thanks for checking on us."</p><p>"Aiko what did it say about slamming doors?!" she says in a hushed tone walking into his room.</p><p>Sapphire sighs and sinks into the sofa only to be startled by the sound of Aiko's voice. "If you get to fuck on the public sofa I can do what ever I want!"</p><p>"Watch your language!" she hears mikki shout and decides now would be an amazing time to leave. She slips out the back door locking it behind her.</p><p>Back at the bunker where the rally was held, Ghost sank into a cushioned chair that looked no older than twenty years. It was ragged and you could feel the springs when you sat down. Moving around so much however keeps you used to such poor accommodations. She took off her mask and sighed.</p><p>"Mikki and the kids are okay," Parker says while walking into the room. Ghosts' expressions soften a little.</p><p>She cracks her knuckles before she begins to sign. 'So she did not give the hero her signature?'</p><p>"No she did, the hero was pretending to be an activist."</p><p>She leans back into her dusty old chair. 'She was kinda pretty.'</p><p>Parker immediately smacks Ghost across the face.</p><p>Ghost looks up at her with the most offended expression </p><p>"We had a pro hero walk into our rally, practically gift wrapped, and you let her go! For what? Because she was pretty?!"</p><p>'No! She was a new recruit, she hadn't done anything!'</p><p>"Yet! Give her time, maybe a few months, or a year or two, she'll be like all the other heroes!" Parker looked angry, but it was washed in sadness and disgust. She hated heroes, everyone there did. Everyone had a personal reason to despise them. It didn't make parkers pain any less or more so valid.</p><p>'I don't think so, something about her seemed...different.'</p><p>"I hate you and everything you stand for."</p><p>'Not gonna lie, that one hurt my feelings.'</p><p>"Good."</p><p>'Bitch.'</p><p>Parker makes a condescending face and also signs the word 'bitch' back at her. They do this for several minutes.</p><p>By the time sapphire got back she walked into something she felt she shouldn't have. Ghost and Parker were in a tangled mess on the floor, Parker was pulling her hair and Ghost was biting her arm.</p><p>"Really guys, this is how we conduct ourselves now?" She takes a quick photo with cellphone.</p><p>They both stand up quickly, "it's not what it looks like!"</p><p>Sapphire crosses her arms and leans on the door frame, "I'm not judging, just lock the door next time."</p><p>'She started it.'</p><p>"Oh really!" Despite being almost a foot shorter than Ghost she still manages to smack her square in the face.</p><p>'Why does no one respect me?'</p><p>Parker dusts herself off and pushes her hair back in place, "anyway." She moves over and sits at the desk in the far left corner. "We should really plan our next rally location."</p><p>'I'm the boss, shouldn't I get the desk?'</p><p>"No, anyway I was thinking we should scout the east side," Ghost signs the word 'sad' repeatedly. Parker ignores this. "Also we should definitely be moving forward there are plenty of bad heroes on the east side to choose from."</p><p>Sapphire sits in the old dusty chair and crosses her legs. 'My chair...' Ghost is left to stand, they're too proud of a person to sit on the floor.</p><p>"I did the last scout job, make someone else do it."</p><p>"This is gonna be our first public hero take down. We need to be very careful."</p><p>'I'll do it.'</p><p>"Ghost please take offence to this but you," she gestures up and down, "are not a subtle person." </p><p>Sapphire chuckles, "yeah nothing like a 6'2 woman in a trench coat and smiley mask lurking around in public."</p><p>Ghost looks down at themselves and messes with their coat, 'what's wrong with how I dress?'</p><p>Parker sighs but takes a moment to think, "actually no, Ghost 'scouting' would work perfectly."</p><p>"How?"</p><p>Ghost is on the watch list, they'll be watching Ghost. If she just lurks around they won't notice the actual scouts!"</p><p>Ghost not paying attention, still fiddling with their coat, thinks to themselves 'I happen to think I'm very sexy.'</p><p>"It's settled, Ghost is the red herring!"</p><p>'I'm the what?'</p>
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<a name="section0003"><h2>3. The Mayflower District</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Max stood outside her hero agency doors, she was too afraid to walk in. Several of her coworkers passed her but she just stared. She felt as though she failed her first mission. A whole month of undercover work wasted in an instant. The memory kept replaying in her head; 'Please leave and never come back.' She understood why Ghost felt that way, it didn't make her feel any better.</p><p>She could hear her boss now 'oh so you wasted a whole month of paid leave but it's okay because you didn't push your boundaries and insert yourself, you're fired.' she was sure that's what he'd say.</p><p>She looked at her watch, it was 7:56 she had to be there at 8:00 she couldn't sulk outfront any longer. She took a deep breath and walked in. She smiled at the front desk secretary and checked in. She made her way to the locker rooms and slipped on her hero costume leaving the mask behind, she didn't feel like wearing that bulky thing. However as she was about to leave a thought accrued to her. 'If i'm wearing the mask he won't see my facial expression, if I can keep from crying I'm golden!' she quickly grabbed the mask and put it on.</p><p>She took the elevator to the fourth floor, where her division was. The HIA was mostly known for intel gathering, negotiations, and hostage situations but they did a lot of other common hero work. Max worked for the patrol division, the only reason she was given the AHAV job was because she was the only new hire for that quarter.</p><p>She was called into the office the second her boss saw her enter. A chill ran up her spine and she couldn't help but fiddle with her costumes' zipper. Thanks to the mask he'd never see her mile long scared frown and twitching upper lip. She focused all her attention on keeping her eyes and eyebrows looking normal.</p><p>"Y- yes sir," she asked with a shaky voice. She has to work on that.</p><p>"I'm so glad you're already in your hero costume. I am," he pauses as he looks through some papers.  "I'm gonna assign you to mayflower district, uhhh, for now-" he doesn't even look up at her, Max is completely caught off guard.</p><p>"Wh- what d- do you mean?"</p><p>"Would you rather be placed somewhere closer?"</p><p>"Sir i'm shocked I'm getting an assignment at all! Aren't you going to fire me?"</p><p>"Wha- fire? Why would I fire you?" For the first time Max truly heard emotion in his voice.</p><p>"I, I failed my mission, I was caught. Shouldn't I be punished?" Max can't get herself to look him in the eye, she's lost complete control of her expression. Even only looking at her eyes you could almost read the anxiety.</p><p>He stands up from his desk and walks in front of it and leans back. "Did you not manage to figure out how to find the rallies?"</p><p>"I did but-" he holds up his hand silencing her.</p><p>"Did you not witness the rally in its entirety confirming the suspect's quirk?"</p><p>"I did."</p><p>"Did you or didn't you discover how they've been managing to get intel revealing to us a flaw in our firewall?"</p><p>"I did."</p><p>"We have been tracking this woman for 3 years and the most we've gotten is rough recounts, blurry photos, and rumors. Yes, now that they know we know about the markers and they will change them however we can still look for the old ones and do a full sweep of previous rally locations. You gave up more info in 22 days then our entire agency had in literal years."</p><p>Max was dumbfounded, she came into his office expecting the worse only to be showered in praise.</p><p>"I wanted to promote you to information gathering however you lack one qualification, you gotta be employed with us for at least 4 years. When that day comes I'm sending you there, for now I need you to patrol the mayflower district."</p><p>Max couldn't help but smile as wide as she could, out of all things she worried about a guaranteed promotion was not on her list. She thanks her boss and walks out of the office to get to work. Except she had to immediately walk back in.</p><p>"Where's the mayflower district?"</p><p>He instantly breaks out into laughter.</p><p>The Mayflower district was a large circle in the middle of the city, it was a very busy place, full of shops, restaurants, and fun hang out spots. It was called the Mayflower district because in the very center, in a beautiful park, there rested a single grave of the woman who used to own the district. While she was alive she used her quirk to make sure the area was full of flowers. On her deathbed she asked to be buried underneath the magnolia tree in the park. Now whenever the tree's flowers bloom and begin to spread pollen it keeps all the beautiful flowers from dying no matter the time of year. Walking into the May flower district is like walking into spring.</p><p>Max tried her hardest to be alert but her short attention span kept distracting her. She just couldn't stop staring at the flowers. Or talking to the friendly old people in the park. She was told to walk around and through the whole district but she decided walking a little more slowly while in the park would be ok, just this once; she would in fact continue to do this everyday.</p><p>For the first few days she was often stopped by curious civilians. They were always in awe of her quirk. The ability to make anything she says about herself true, what a power. She demonstrated it often either to show off or just help put.</p><p>A truck driver pulled a muscle while lifting a heavy box of one pound sugar bags for a local bakery. "I have super strength!" she says and helps him unload the rest of his goods.</p><p>A little girl scraped her knee while playing in the park, Max found her sitting on the ground trying to hold back tears, "I have healing hands" she says while patting her on the head. Her scrape heals over instantly.</p><p>Later in the day while talking to a group of young college students, explaining her quirk, they all instantly get excited.</p><p>"So absolutely anything?" one asks with a very happy expression, with a hint of, something lingering behind her eyes.</p><p>"Yep anything," Max lets out a nervous chuckle.</p><p>"Could you turn into hawks so we could take a photo?" one practically shouts.</p><p>Max was the littlest bit annoyed by this request, her whole life people have asked her to turn into random celebrities and heroes but she simply sighed, put on a face smile and said, "I look exactly like the pro hero hawks!"</p><p>Everything from his hero costume to the little mole below his eye, she looked exactly like the real thing all the girls squealed in excitement and for the next five minutes she posed for photos, not her proudest moment. While smiling for one last photo she lets her guard down for a moment and one of the girls pulls her into a kiss ~click~ and gets it on camera. the group ran off immediately after and Max spit out her paper and turned back to normal.</p><p>"That ones gonna come back to haunt me one day. I can make mouthwash come out of my finger tips." She takes off her mask and puts her thumb in her mouth, once she has probably more mouthwash then she needs she takes it out and swishes for several minutes. From that day on she refused to turn into heroes unless a little kid asked. Which one did the following day.</p><p>She spent almost an hour as Allmight letting children swing on her muscles while moms took several photos, she asked that if posted they clarify it wasn't actually Allmight. She was already afraid hawks would come to kick her ass she didn't need to worry about Allmight.</p><p>Unbeknownst to her upon seeing the now viral photo hawks just assumed this happened when he was drunk and never thought about it again.</p><p>When the photos of a new young hero who could change her appearance reached Allmights attention it filled him with joy. Seeing how happy those kids looked put a skip in his step, he could barely transform into his larger form anymore and knowing kids could still witness the old him put a smile on his face.</p><p>It became her daily routine, walk around, help locals, talk to sweet old ladies, play with the kids, and stop the occasional purse snatcher. She'll definitely be a little disappointed to leave when she gets promoted.</p><p>A week in and she knew almost every face she came across, on Saturday her last day of the patrol for that week before her day off she was very relaxed. The circus was in town so the mayflower district wasn't as crowded. She took a leisurely stroll, and was  in a little bit of a daze to be honest and didn't even notice she was about to walk into someone. It was quite the tumble, neither were paying as much attention as they should. The woman's balance however was a little better than Max's, Max fell backward while the woman stood tall.</p><p>"Oof , that hurt, my bad I wasn't paying atten-" her words trail off as she looks up, the woman's shadow looms over her with her trench coat ends flapping slightly in the wind. It was Ghost. "It's you," she whispers.</p><p>Ghosts eyes were wide with shock, out of all the people she could have bumped into, not only was it a hero, but a hero who knew who she was. Her politeness switch turned on as she helped the young hero up, realized what she did and felt herself panic just a little. Looking at Ghost though you wouldn't be able to tell. She was a beast of a woman with cold dead eyes. But on the inside she was a mess. However looking scary benefited her so she never tried to change.</p><p>Both of them stared into each other's wide eyes, Ghost still hadn't let go of her hands. They were both wearing a mask and couldn't read eachothers emotions. After snapping out of their daze, Ghost drops her hands and quickly walks past her. Though she looked calm she was screaming on the inside. Sapphire always scolded her for never looking up when she walked.</p><p>Max stood still for a moment evaluating her life choices. 'I can ignore this, and live, I can report this, and get fired for doing nothing, or I can chase her. No if I chase her it could start panic' she looks around, there weren't many people but enough to stir. She turned around and followed behind at a normal pace as if everything was fine. When she gets nervous its a little hard to breath in her mask so she pulls it off and lets it hang around her neck. After passing a few buildings, Ghost turns into an alleyway. Max now running on pure adrenaline, picks up her pace and follows. She turns in and no one is there. "What?" She walks deeper in and as she passes a dumpster she's grabbed and slammed onto the wall by Ghost. Her left hand covering her mouth and in her right a knife to her throat.</p><p>People walk past the alley way now and then but not a soul notices. Max breathes heavily through her nose, Ghost has a tight grip on her. Not a chance she'd be able to activate her quirk. Ghost hesitates, she's been lurking around mayflower for a few days now. She's seen this woman everyday; though she didn't see Ghost. There wasn't a mean bone in her body, she's done nothing wrong. If she slit her throat she'd be no better than the heroes.</p><p>Ghost slowly puts the knife down and replaces it with her notepad, without taking her hand off of Max's mouth she struggles to put the notepad on the wall behind them and writes barely legibly and holds it up for Max to read.</p><p>'I will let go please don't scream?' Max nods her head the best she can with the amount of pressure Ghost has placed on her.</p><p>An intelligent person, upon being let go would run away, max was no such person. When Ghost let go she simply caught her breath and stood there patiently while Ghost wrote in her notepad.</p><p>'I'm sorry.'</p><p>"It's okay." she said, lying.</p><p>'Why are you following me?'</p><p>"You were flagged as a villain, if I didn't follow you and someone found out I would lose my job."</p><p>'Do you think I'm a villain?'</p><p>"I don't know what I think," in an attempt to break the massive amount of tension in the air, Max put on a smile. "So, do you always stick a knife to ladies' throats, or am I special."</p><p>The silence could kill a man, Max had the sudden realization waiting for a laugh from a mute woman was a mistake.</p><p>Ghost drew a smiley face on her notepad, this caused Max to burst out laughing, she laughed enough for both of them.</p><p>"Can I ask a question," Ghost nodded in agreement. "Do you think you're a villain?"</p><p>Ghost shook her head no.</p><p> "Do you think you're a hero then?"</p><p>She took a long pause to think about this. Max waited patiently for a response.</p><p>'I don't think so.'</p><p>Something about that answer saddened Max, was it because Ghost was afraid of what she was doing or because she doesn't believe she's doing good. It could also be because she hated heroes but Max wanted to believe it had a deeper meaning.</p><p>'I'm going to leave now.' She let Max read her words then turned to walk away but Max grabbed her by her sleeve.</p><p>"Don't go!" Ghost stared at her in confusion. Max panics, she doesn't have anything planned to say, she lets go of her but Ghost just stands there staring. She rubs her neck waiting for max to say something.</p><p>"It wasn't a lie, what I said at the rally, I meant it when I said I believed in your cause. It wasn't just an attempt to get you to spare me."</p><p>Something about the tone or max's voice, or maybe it was the expression on her face, maybe it was just max. Something made Ghost's heart skip a beat. Something she was not used to.</p><p>Max had never spoken such genuine words in her life, she didn't know why she felt the need to say this. Ghost pulled out her notepad again.</p><p>She couldn't distract herself with hope, Ghost clicked her pen and wrote something down, she ripped it out of her notepad and handed it to Max before walking away, for real this time.</p><p>Max reread the words over and over again, 'if you really believed you'd have quit by now...' something about the words put a lump in her throat. She didn't even turn around to watch Ghost walk away, she didn't want to know what direction she walked in.</p><p>She spent the rest of her patrol in a daze, 'if you really believed you'd have quit by now.'  Why did those words keep repeating in her head? When she finished her shift she didn't report anything, all was fine, nothing interesting happened, a slow day. As she changed in the locker room her eyes were practically glossed over. Ghost was right.</p><p> </p><p>Ghost walked probably a bit quicker than she needed to, she wanted to believe a hero was good, she wanted to believe so badly. But even if a hero has never done anything bad in their whole lives, the fact they stand by silently while other heroes wreak havoc makes them bad too. All heroes are villains, that was their message. If Ghost didn't believe it then it meant nothing.</p><p>Once Ghosts nerves calmed she was able to get her normal pace back, and by sunset she had made it to an old office building they were now currency staying at. Ghost walked up to the top floor and into the room she claimed, she took off her coat gloves and facemask and slumped into the cot she had set up earlier.</p><p>The second she shuts her eyes Parker walks in. She turns her head to glare at the woman.</p><p>"How was your day? Anything exciting happens?"</p><p>Ghost sits up so it's easier to sign. "No." </p><p>"I knew you would lie to me."</p><p>Ghost looks at her with confused annoyment.</p><p>"I am the world's greatest hacker! You don't think I was watching you through local security cameras!" she shouts.</p><p>"That is a major invasion of my privacy. I would like you to stop that."</p><p>"An inva- AN INVASION ," parker grabs Ghost by her shirt and shakes her back and forth, "YOU HELD A KNIFE TO THE THROAT OF A PRO HERO IN BROAD DAYLIGHT BEHIND A DUMPSTER!"</p><p>Ghost, still being shaken, can not respond to this.</p><p>"YOU HAD ONE JOB, LAY LOW AND LURK SO THE REAL SCOUTS COULD GO UNNOTICED!"</p><p>'I just want to lay down,' Ghost thinks to herself, still being shaked.</p><p>"WHAT DO YOU HAVE TO SAY FOR YOURSELF!"</p><p>Ghost looks at her with disgust, realizing her mistake, Parker lets go so Ghost can sign.</p><p>Parker clears her throat, "what do you have to say for yourself?"</p><p>"You're a bitch."</p><p>And at that moment Ghost has never regretted something more in their life, the next 30 seconds went by quickly but the pain lasted for days. Ghost has never been punched in the face so hard in her life. No one dared ask where the black eye came from at breakfast the next day.</p><p>Despite the beating of a lifetime Ghost was still forced to lurk around mayflower.</p><p>Sunday was nothing special.</p><p>Monday Ghost saw Max buying a coffee at a small stand, she didn't notice Ghost.</p><p>Tuesday they passed each other on the street, neither made eye contact.</p><p>Wednesday when they bumped into each other at the park they decided to walk together.</p><p>"I thought a lot about what you said to me." </p><p>Ghost pulls out her notepad, 'And?'</p><p>"You're right. But I can't give up being a hero, I want to help people. I want to be a real hero not like the ones in your story."</p><p>'How do you plan to do that?'</p><p>"I can't attend rallies, I don't want to insert myself where I don't belong but I want to help spread your message of peace." Max unclips the strap on her mask and lets it dangle around her neck. She wanted Ghost to see her whole face.</p><p>'Fuck, no, i want to trust her so much, but,' she thought to herself while just blankly staring into Max's eyes.</p><p>"I know it seems like a pipe dream, but I want to believe good heroes are out there, I want to believe I'm one of them. Maybe I can work my way up, I'll make it my duty to hold my fellow heroes accountable!"</p><p>Ghost never answered her, they continued to walk in silence through the park.</p><p>Thursday they walked together a little more relaxed, Ghost showed her how to sign curse words.</p><p>Friday during her lunch break they sat and ate together, neither of them brought up each other's work they just talked as normal friends might; Well, Max talked, Ghost wrote in her notepad.</p><p>That night Parker scolded her again. Told her she was making a mistake, but when Ghost laid in her hard as a rock cot that night the only thing on her mind was Max. The way she looked when she laughed as they sat in the open cafe.</p><p>Saturday as Ghost got ready to leave, Parker stopped her, she placed her hand gently on Ghost's shoulder. "Don't get attached to her."</p><p>"I think she's different."</p><p>"You always want to believe in the good in people, you've always given everyone the benefit of the doubt but...Ghost, the rally is tomorrow, do you really think she'll support us after what happens?"</p><p>Ghost looks away, she doesn't want to answer that question, she knows the answer but she wants to remain ignorant for a little while longer. She pulls away from Parker and leaves.</p><p>"Don't say i didn't try to warn you..."</p><p>That day instead of bumping into max she looked for her. Before even greeting her she hands Max a small stack of flyers, they weren't like the location flyers. It was actually a short message on AHAV beliefs and on the back a list of civilian rights. This put a smile on her face, though Ghost left shortly after Max would think about her all day, she handed out the flyers to everyone she talked to.</p><p>Max rolled around in bed the next day, she didn't really get why she was feeling so down today, normally a day off is so refreshing but she was just kinda moppy today. She glanced at the tv, she hadn't really been watching it, she promised her mom that when she moved away she'd make an effort to watch the news sense she wouldn't be there to keep her informed but; it was far too boring.</p><p>Max turned up the volume in an effort to make it harder to ignore. "It really does make you a little afraid to go out doesn't it," one anchor says to the other.</p><p>The other nods, "I have to agree, I mean three missing heroes? Puts a bad taste in my mouth. Our hearts go out to their families."</p><p>Max rolls over, "why is it always bad news."</p><p>Max is startled up right by the sound of knocking on her door. It wasn't very loud but loud enough she noticed it. She turns the tv off and stood up. She groans as she stretches out her back. She would look through the peep hole before opening if her mother hadn't insisted she tape over it because 'people like to creep on young single women who live alone.'  When she opened the door she was surprised to see Ghost step forward. She pulls down her mask.</p><p>"Oh Ghost you startled me what are you!" She's cut off completely as Ghost places both her hands on Max's face and pulls her in for a kiss. At first it scared her, she couldn't do anything but stare at Ghost's closed eyes in shock but after a few seconds she melted into her arms. Ghost moved slightly forward using her left hand to close the door behind her.</p><p> Max grasped at her trench coat collar as Ghost wrapped her arms around her.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0004"><h2>4. The Missing heros</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>It was late, Max laid asleep on top of Ghost's chest. she ran her fingers through Max's hair. Regret filled her mind, she didn't know what she wanted from Max, if this was just something to pass time or something more real. However she felt guilty nonetheless. She knew what was to come tomorrow and her actions leading up to her moments with Max replayed in her mind as she stared at the ceiling.</p><p>Earlier that day after she gave those fliers to max she left to do some serious work. At the rally tomorrow they are going to publicly execute several heroes, it was her job to go collect three of them.</p><p>The first target was Marksmen, his quirk was pinpoint accuracy; he could stand upon the tallest building in the world and pin a fly by its wings on the other side of the city. He was perched on an apartment building near the governor's office, word got out that someone wanted to have him assassinated so marksmen was tasked with watching him. In the office with the governor was his sidekick, a young woman who could turn invisible. Around noon someone busted through the office doors and before he could even pull the trigger marksmen darted him. Though he preferred kill shots, he was a sniper; as a hero he was forced to use sleeper darts.</p><p>Once the man collapsed his sidekick revealed herself to cuff him, she waved up at him through the window before she hauled the would-be assassin away. He placed his gun on his shoulder and adjusted the strap so it was tight and wouldn't sway. He lit a cigarette, maybe if he wasn't so full of himself he'd have noticed Ghost behind him. She pulled out her pen and clicked it pulling his attention to her.</p><p>"Whoa, you scared me, don't worry i'm a hero i'm not doing anything nefarious."</p><p>Ghost does not answer him.</p><p>He chuckles nervously, "I'm sorry sir, do you own this building or are you a resident?"</p><p>Ghost sighs and signs the words "I'm a woman."</p><p>He unfortunately doesn't understand sign language and simply gives her a confused look.</p><p>She wonders to herself why she's even bothering, she slips her mask down and lets it rest on her chin. "Once upon a time," hearing those words sent a chill down his spine, though he had never seen any pictures he'd heard his fellow heroes talking about a suspected villain who could control minds by telling them a story. He didn't have any time to react before she said, "You followed me without question and stayed silent the whole time."</p><p>His eyes glossed over as the words entered his ears and when Ghost turned around he followed at a normal pace behind. When they got to the first floor they exited through a back door where the hero was intercepted by other followers. They tied him up tight and placed him into the trunk of a black car with tinted windows. They had to make sure he was secure cause once they drove out of range he'd regain freewill.</p><p>The next target was a hero called Cosmic Wolf; his quirk would be mostly what you would expect, he was incredibly fast, an amazing sense of smell, perfect hearing and more strength than he knew what to do with. Unlike normal wolves however he had venom in his bite. The cosmic wolf stood at about 6'6 he was mostly human shaped though covered in fur and had the face of a wolf. His fur was a shiny silver color and his eyes shined like a distant galaxy. If it wasn't for all the things he's done one might describe him as breathtaking.</p><p>Wolf was one of the heroes tasked to find Ghosts, he was the one who took all those blurry photos. And everytime he got a hold of her scent he'd follow it for as long as he could but every time he'd lose it somehow. He would normally track someone halfway across the world once he locked on. It was if someone deleted it from his mind; this fact enraged him.</p><p>It was about mid day when a Ghost found him, she spotted him leaving a parking garage. He was probably leaving for his lunch break. Ghost made her way to the lowest level of the building and waited. At about 1:43 he arrived back the second he stepped from his car he took a deep breath. His eyes dilated as his face scrunched up, he widened his stance and began to growl. After a minute of smelling the air he aimlessly searched through his backpack and pulled out a set of noise cancelling headphones and started running in the direction the smell was coming from.</p><p>When he reached the bottom he spotted her immediately. "Writer," he shouted, it echoed beautifully through the almost empty level. He began to laugh, "After all this time and effort trying to chase you here you are gift wrapped!"</p><p>Ghost lowers her mask slowly.</p><p>Wolf laughs harder as he prepares himself for a fight.</p><p>"Once upon a time."</p><p>Wolf lunges forward, "That trick won't work on me." His confidence was too high, everyone was under the impression that Ghosts quirk was mind control, that as long as you couldn't hear her words she couldn't control you. He had special headphones made to fit his large ears and they blasted a song designed to cancel his super hearing. Ghost decides to humor him.</p><p>With each strike he tries to make she simply dodges it flawlessly and in the moment she can't help but laugh at him. With her quirk she can't help but narrate, it helps her thoughts flow better so she can visualize what to do next.</p><p>"The large wolf man was foolish to believe in the fact that sound was what powered me, every punch and kick missed Ghost by a hair." She said through laughter, Wolf was unaware she was controlling his movements, he simply believed she was skilled and paid no mind to her lips moving or the words appearing in the book that floated behind her.</p><p>"And as he made one last blow, he missed, and in that moment," her eyes widened with murderous intent, "Every bone in his left leg shatters!" she shouts.</p><p>As Wolf steps forward for another attack he falls to the ground, it feels as if a bomb went off inside his body, his screams echo throughout the building. It was unfortunate no one was there to help him.</p><p>Ghost breaks out into a loud laugh filled with gusto, so much so she stumbles a bit hugging her stomach. With the intent of fleeing wolf tries to crawl away he whimpers like a lost puppy. As Ghost follows closely behind.</p><p>"The poor little puppy tried to get away," she leans down and pulls the headphones off his head, "But was paralyzed with fear."</p><p>Wolf's breath was rapid, for the first time in his life he was afraid. He screamed in his head with everything he had telling himself to move but he couldn't.</p><p>"How foolish he must have felt," she smiled wider than wolf had ever seen on a human being, "to think these cheap things could save him." She dropped the headphones and crushed them below her feet. "Beg." Her expression went cold.</p><p>Without a second to spare he lost the ability to think rationally and pleaded for his life. "Please, please don't kill me, i, i have a wife, and three amazing little pups, don't kill me." He could barely get his words out, he was practically having an asthma attack. "I'll do anything, I'll pay anything, please please!"</p><p>Ghost grabbed him by the muzzle and even then he still tried to beg. "He fell silent as the car drove into the garage." She let go as the car pulled in, it looked exactly like the one who took marksmen.</p><p>Two followers stepped out of the car and began to tie him, one of them duct taped his muzzle shut as if he was an alligator. The two followers hoisted him up and tossed him in the trunk. Ghost pulled her mask backup and deactivated her quirk. "The End." She spoke softly, Wolf began thrashing in the trunk but with reinforced metal he wouldn't be able to free himself. She stepped into the car and was handed a tablet. It was lit up from a video call, Parker.</p><p>"Ghost, the boat is almost ready.'' Parker said without looking at the screen, Ghost gives her a thumbs up. "I have a wet suit waiting for you there so get going they will drop you off before bringing the puppy to us. Have fun," she smiled and hung up.</p><p>They would spend the next thirty minutes driving, headed toward the docks on the north side of the city. Upon arrival she saw Sapphire standing in front of a small speedboat already in her wet suit, except it wasn't sapphire, not really. Her hair was pulled back into two large pom poms.</p><p>Something about Sapphire that most don't know is that she suffers from split personality disorder. A fun fact is that they both had their own quirk. As if when her mind fractured off they unlocked a bit of DNA from previous quirks that were passed down to her. When she was Sapphire she had magma that rested below her skin and shined through thin cracks. When her hair was pulled back into pom poms she was Cheyenne. When her, the cracks were non-existent. Cheyenne's quirk was memory wipe, she could pick and choose specific memories or even parts of them and take it for herself.</p><p>This was actually how Wolf never tracked Ghost fully, once out of public view Ghosts would activate her quirk, freeze him in place and let Cheyenne memory wipe him. She'd take the smell right out of his brain and the memory of ever getting close to her.</p><p>Personality wise Sapphire and Cheyenne were night and day, Sapphire was strong and a go getter while Cheyenne remained calm and reserved, Cheyenne also unfortunately doesn't understand sign language so upon arrival Ghost pulled out her notepad.</p><p>'My wet suit?' She wrote and let her read.</p><p>"Oh! Right," she hopped into the boat and rummaged around. She threw it at her, it did in fact hit Ghost in the face. "My bad."</p><p>Ghost handed the wet suit to the one follower before proceeding to strip down. The follower helped zip Ghost in and left to take Wolf back to base. After it was already to late Ghost realized they took her clothes, when the third car would arrive she'd be stuck in a wetsuit for the ride back. </p><p>Cheyenne started the boat as Ghost hopped in, she did not give Ghost a chance to sit down so when they pulled away she fell backwards. She took this moment to just lay there and evaluate her life choices.</p><p>"Doesn't the wind in your hair feel great!" she shouts without looking back to see Ghost was in fact on the floor.</p><p>As they moved past the horizon they were in the clear, no one on the dock or shore would be able to see them. In the distance you could see Ms. MorningStar, a large coast guard ship. Ghost regained the will to live and stood up from the floor. "Once upon a time the Ms. MorningStar's engine exploded causing the ship to rapidly sink." The second those words left Ghost's mouth the ship exploded. In the distance you could see people jump ship as it went down.</p><p>The third target was the captain of said boat they called him Liquid Fury. an average looking man with an average water quirk, which was why he was in the hero coast guard instead of a real hero. Not that any of the targets would be considered heroes if the public knew about the things they'd done.</p><p>Cheyenne slowed the boat as they came closer to the wreck and its passengers in the water. In the water was liquid fury and their 6 shipmates, along with a dog named lieutenant.</p><p>"Oh thank god, we're saved," one goes "Thank god they were in the water, we could have been here for hours," another says. All but one swims closer to the boat as Cheyenne and Ghost stare at them. The one who doesnt is a young woman with a mermaid quirk, she's shaking in the water with wide eyes.</p><p>"C-Captain," fury turns around to look at her. She raises her shaking hand out of the water and points at Ghost, "The words!" fury looks back to Ghost, their eyes go wide, and finally notices the giant book behind her, it read 'Once upon a time the Ms. MorningStar's engine exploded causing the ship to rapidly sink'</p><p>None of them were aware of who Ghost was but anyone would find this distressing, without thinking fury pushed their hand forward cause a tentacle made of water to shoot toward them.</p><p>"Everyone lost the ability to move," seconds before the water would have hit them, everyone freezes, their muscles tense up and fear fills their eyes. The tentacle falls naturally back into the water.</p><p>Cheyenne jumps in, swims toward fury and drags them to the boat and Ghost pulls fury up. She turns to look at the closet shipmate in the water and places her hands on their head. Her eyes begin to glow. She's taking all the memories of after the ship blew up. A side effect of this was it caused the victim to pass out. The shipmates were unaware of this and thought Cheyenne was killing them one by one. Images of their loved ones flashed in their minds.</p><p>During this Ghost pulls a very large orange cube out of the boat and tosses it in the water. She jumps in then pulls a string attached to it and it blows up into a raft, after each memory wipe Ghost grabs the victim and struggles a little to get them in. she'd rather leave them to drown but it's more fun if they live to spread panic. Why did the boat explode, where did this raft come from, where's liquid fury, and why can't they remember anything?</p><p>Once everyone but Fury is in the raft they are done, Cheyenne grabs the dog and puts her in their speed boat and they take off. Ghost begins to tie up the hero and then deactivates her quirk. Before Fury gets the chance to struggle, Ghost punches them square in the face, fury is knocked out instantly.</p><p>Ghost wants to ask about the dog but cant, she doesnt have her notepad and she doesnt feel like activating her quirk just to ask a dumb question. She's also somewhat surprised it isn't attacking. She spent the rest of the boat ride back to the docks petting her.</p><p>The third car arrives and fury is tossed in the trunk. Cheyenne and Ghost hop in, lieutenant spends the whole car ride with her head out the back window. When they arrive back at base, Parker is waiting out front for them. When Cheyenne opens the door the dog dashes out happily barking and runs around.</p><p>"Where the fuck did you get a dog," Parker asks.</p><p>As Ghost shuts the car door she signs "I don't know man things happen, anyway her collar says her name is lieutenant and she's mine now."</p><p>"Fair enough." Parker moves to the end of the car and pops the trunk open. "Please tell me he's not dead," she says looking at Ghost.</p><p>She leans down and places her fingers on fury's neck, "no he's still alive."</p><p>"Great! Okay guys put him with the others," she gestured for a few followers to come over, the bigger one throws fury over his shoulder and leaves.</p><p>"Now what," Cheyenne asks looking at Parker, Ghosts snaps her fingers to get their attention.</p><p>"Where are my clothes?"</p><p>"Oh uh," she taps a button on her ear piece, "Hey can someone get Ghost some clothes?"</p><p>The three walk into the building, Ghost doesn't know how to call the dog so she bangs on the door until she notices then waves for her to come, surprisingly this works. Lieutenant trots happily behind her.</p><p>After a quick briefing they get started on setting up the rally for the following day they work till sunset. Everyone is exhausted but when trying to sleep, Ghost could only think of Max. Everything she did today, what they would do tomorrow, Max wouldn't understand. She told Ghost she wanted to be a real hero, if that were true she wouldn't condone Ghosts actions. Tonight was her last chance to be with her before the rally. She forced herself out of bed and got dressed. She knocked on Parker's door, she opened with an annoyed look on her face.</p><p>"What the fuck do you want Ghost, its late!"</p><p>"Can you find out where max lives?"</p><p>Parker leans on the door frame and takes a deep breath, "Why do you need to know?"</p><p>Ghost doesn't answer, she just stares.</p><p>"If I find out will you let this go, do you promise to come home, focus on the mission, no more Max after this?" she agrees.</p><p>After about an hour Parker finaly found an address. One of the followers drove Ghost to Max's apartment. Ghost was surprised about how close it was to the Wayward cafe. She ended up standing outside of Max's door for several minutes, she was afraid to knock.</p><p>When she finally did, Max opened the door and was shocked to see her. "Oh Ghost you startled me what are you!" She's completely cut off by Ghost stepping forward and pushing her into a kiss. Max is tense at first but after a few seconds she melts into Ghost's arms. Ghost pushes the door closed behind her and they slowly walk deeper into the apartment.</p><p>She pushes Ghost off for a chance to breathe, "What, what are you doing?"</p><p>Ghost takes off her coat and lets it fall on the ground before kissing her again, running her fingers through Max's hair, it's softer than she imagined.</p><p>Max just accepts this, though it was in the back of her mind, she secretly hoped this would happen. She didn't think it would happen so soon but she wasn't complaining. She places her hands on Ghosts belt and goes to undo it.</p><p>In a panic Ghost grabs her hands to stop her.</p><p>"Wait what's wrong?"</p><p>Ghost pulls out her notepad, of course she forgot to grab a pen, she huffs in anger. She picks up max's hand and traces out each letter one at a time. 'Trust me, I want to, but I wasn't born a woman.'</p><p>"Oh, that's fine," she says with a sweet smile as she reaches her arms around Ghost's neck in an attempt to reach her face. Ghost decides to pick her up instead and kisses her tenderly as she walks to Max's bedroom.</p><p>Later in the night her mind keeps playing through her actions leading up to this moment. Max lays asleep atop her chest, Ghost wants to stay in this moment forever. When she's sure Max is fully asleep she slowly slips out from under her and gets dressed, she locks and closes the door behind her. She walks to a pay phone and calls parker.</p><p>"Are you ready to come home," Ghost taps on the speaker once. " i'll send the car."</p><p>Max woke up alone, she grasped at the bed sheets around her. Part of her knew she'd wake up alone but she still hopped. She got up and looked around the apartment hoping she was just in the bathroom or raiding the fridge. Max was all alone.</p><p>She got into the shower, and let her mind wonder. She was surprised, Ghost was more gentle than she thought she'd be. Ghost despite being 6'2 and looking about as scary as one could she was a very gentle and caring lover. Max blushed as her night replayed in her mind.</p><p>When she got out she finally picked up her phone for the first time since last night it's been blown up with notifications. All from coworkers asking if she saw the news and if she was okay. She tried to respond to them as she got dressed for work.</p><p>"OH MY GOD MAX ARE YOU OKAY I HAVEN'T HEARD FROM YOU" one text reads.</p><p>"What do you mean, it was my day off."</p><p>"Max have you heard about the heroes who went missing?" another read.</p><p>"What? Who went missing"</p><p>"Omg max where are you, two heroes from the east side went missing and i haven't heard from you please respond so i know you're okay!" this one was from her mother and was followed by 213 more messages of varying worries.</p><p>"Mom, I'm fine, it was my day off so ! left my phone on silent. I'm sorry."</p><p>Her mother responds with lightning speed, "OH THANK THE LORD YOU'RE ALIVE!"</p><p>"Yes of course mom, if I was missing they'd have notified you, i can't talk right now i need to go to work."</p><p>Upon arrival her hero agency was chaos, "What's happening, why is everyone so freaked?"</p><p>"We thought three heroes went missing, just three, twenty are now MIA. all from all over, there are only a few witnesses. They said they were hauled away in the trunk of a black car."</p><p>"Oh my god."</p><p>"You better get your hero costume on, we're about to do a press release all current heroes have to stand in the background."</p><p>A million thoughts filled Max's head, one of those thoughts was Ghost. She shook her head refusing to even think she was involved.</p><p>She quickly put on her hero costume and a woman led her to the press hall. Every hero currently on duty that day was put on a platform to be the backdrop of the speaker. She was placed, asked to hold her head high and her hair was pushed out of her face.</p><p>The hall was filled with reporters, everyone was talking until the speaker walked out. It was a man who stood at a whopping seven foot two, he had jet black skin with something orange shining through the cracks. He wore a skin tight hero costume with a strange red pattern on it. He walked proud and with heavy steps that shook the stage, his body was made completely out of igneous rocks and every once in a while a little bit of lava dropped from his mouth.</p><p>Max couldn't help but lose focus and stare at him, she quickly got a hold of herself and went back to the pose she was placing in. That was Mr. Magma, the highest ranked hero in the HIA. truly a sight to behold.</p><p>The room fell silent and the cameras turned on, "good morning everyone," his voice was deep and raspy. "It fills me with sorrow to say, yesterday it was made public that three heroes went missing in an attempt to bring information forward however," he took a short pause. "That number has jumped to twenty."</p><p>The press went into an uproar of questions everyone was pushing to get forward, Mr. Magma pointed to one of them.</p><p>"What information do we have?"</p><p>"Most were taken in broad daylight between the early morning hours and five, you" he points to another.</p><p>"Is there any information about their attacker? Are they connected or coincidental?"</p><p>"The ones that did have eye witnesses said they saw them placed in the trunk of a black car, a sedan with tinted windows. It is safe to assume they are in fact connected."</p><p>"Should civilians be scared?"</p><p>"It is not our intent to spread fear; we are simply hoping to bring more witnesses forward," he points to another reporter."</p><p>"Doing a press conference after only a day can and will spread panic regardless of intentions. Why do it?"</p><p>He clenches the podem slightly if it wasn't so loud in the room you'd hear the wood crack slightly. "If it was only a few heroes we'd have tried to deal with it quietly but seeing how-"</p><p>The reporter cuts him off, "Yet when it was believed to be only three you still notified the news, before even a day had passed. It does in fact seem like you want to spread panic!" when Mr. Magma breathed out, you could see black smoke fill the air around him.</p><p>"It was not my decision to notify the news next-"</p><p>"Aren't you in charge though Mr. Magma or is that statement incorrect?" the same reporter butts in. This reporter was a young woman, it seemed her intent was to antagonize the man. That was in fact why she was there. If you rolled up her sleeve you'd have seen a tattoo with the words 'AHAV' and if you pushed back her hair you'd see those signature upside down cross earrings. She was one of Ghost's followers, an anti hero activist.</p><p>"That's enough, no more questions!" he shouts at the crowd of reporters before storming off the stage. Another more calm hero takes his place and continues to answer more questions for the next 10 minutes before the conference closes.</p><p>In Mr. Magma's office with several other high ranking heroes he shouts quite loudly. "Why are we taking responsibility for giving the new information that shit was leaked to them gods know how!" the room is slightly on fire because with every word he spits out lava. His sidekick, Neil tirelessly puts them out. His quirk let him shoot out a foam similar to that from a fire extinguisher but it was strong and cold enough to rapidly cool down Mr. Magma's lava instantly. Someone else kept sweeping up the rocks.</p><p>"Calm down, it will work in our favor, if it didn't get leaked no one would have come forward with information." A female hero says with a calm expression. She was Mr. Magma's wife, a tall elegant looking woman with white hair. Her hero name was Ms. Sadness, her quirk manifested in her tears that could either heal minor wounds or act as corrosive acid.</p><p>"I was made to look like a fool out there!"</p><p>"You already look like a fool," she mumbled below her breath. </p><p>He backhand slaps the woman knocking her to the ground and leaving behind a hand shaped burn on her face. None of the other heroes say anything or even help the poor woman up.</p><p>"I'm sorry Magma, I didn't mean it!"</p><p>He stands over her with his hand outstretched, the other heroes look away as lava slowly drips from his hand above her.</p><p>Ms. Sadness immediately starts crying in an attempt to brace herself. No one helps her or speaks out against his actions. She wants to move but she knows if she does it will be worse. She looks away so it won't hit her in the face. The lava plops onto her dress, it takes everything in her not to scream, after a minute Mr. Magma looks away and his sidekick quickly covers her in foam.</p><p>"Everyone get out."</p><p>"Yes sir," they all shout in attention before leaving. The second they were out the young woman burst into pained tears as she was carried to the infirmary. There was an old woman whose quirk could heal burned skin, she was recruited personally by Mr. Magma. Everyday she told herself she'd quit but never did, she feared what they'd do without her let alone to her if she tried.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0005"><h2>5. Hunting trip</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Early Sunday morning for the Wayward cafe was always the same, Mikki would wake up all the kids for breakfast which was followed by a family meeting. She pulls out a large book and a pen.</p>
<p>"Okay Aiko, Hikaru, Axel, Momo, I already know you're gonna be here this week," she writes as she speaks. "Blaine will also be here this week but he won't get her till after four. Who's not heading home this week?" She writes down the names of the kids who have their hands raised.</p>
<p>One of the little girls walks up to her, "I'll only be here on monday, my momma gets home from her business trip on tuesday. Is that okay?"</p>
<p>Mikki places her hand on the child's head, "Of course that's fine baby. Okay you're all free to go!" </p>
<p>Aiko tries to sneakily grab the jug of chocolate milk from the fridge but of course mikki practically had eyes on the back of her head, "AIKO!"</p>
<p>"AH," the sound of her voice caused him to flinch and his quirk activated. He had the ability to create spikes from anywhere on his body, or he would, if he could control it. His spikes pierced the jug and he stared as it slowly spilled all over the floor.</p>
<p>Mikki sighs, "you have to clean that up."</p>
<p>"I know, just let me wallow in self pity for a few more seconds," he said in a monotone voice as he stared down at the milk soaking into his socks. His eyes were full of regret and anguish.</p>
<p>"Stop being dramatic."</p>
<p>Hikaru taps Mikki on the shoulder to get her attention, "Hey mom, can I have some money?"</p>
<p>"Yeah sure what do you need it for?"</p>
<p>"I wanted to go hunting and I know you'd rather me ask for train money than mug someone so-"</p>
<p>"Thank you for being honest, you know the safe code take what you need. Just leave a note with how much. Oh also make sure you have enough for the return trip and some extra incase you get hungry!"</p>
<p>"Okay okay!"</p>
<p>Mikki kisses her on her forehead, "Be safe!"</p>
<p>Hikaru rolls her eyes and secretly wipes off her forehead. "Yeah yeah whatever."</p>
<p>Hikaru was about thirteen when she ran away from home, her father was a known mob boss and a very violent man. The fire was the last straw for her, she was burned on half her body. Still wounded and covered in bandages she left. Just a little kid on the street just trying to get by in the world. She stayed alive by scamming and mugging people. She wasn't very big at the time so she was very underestimated but armed with a gun she stole from her father she got the job done. She would bounce from motel to motel and for the first time in her life, even though she struggled she was happy.</p>
<p>One day she decided to go after a tall women she spotted on the street, she wore nice clothes so she must have had money. Hikaru followed her, as they walked the woman kept writing things in her notepad. She followed her into an alleyway, when she stopped and turned around hikaru pulled out the gun and pointed it at her. The woman didn't react.</p>
<p>"Give me all your money," she shouted.</p>
<p>the woman simply held out her notepad. It read 'How old are you?'</p>
<p>"Just give me your money and I won't hurt you!"</p>
<p>The woman flipped to the next page 'Are you hungry?'</p>
<p>The woman was starting to piss hikaru off, "What are you fucking dumb? Give me your wallet!"</p>
<p>She flipped and tore out the third page, pulled out all the cash she had and handed it to hikaru with a smile on her face and walked away. This entire interaction confused hikaru greatly. She looked at the note. It was an address followed by the words 'The woman there helps kids like you.'</p>
<p>"Yeah I'm not gonna end up in some whore house nice try," despite thinking that she was still curious and went to address. She didn't walk in of course, it was a little tea shop called the Wayward cafe.</p>
<p>She came back everyday for a week before actually walking in. The shop owner Mikki took one look at the poor girl and immediately tried to help her. Hikaru was in dirty clothes and wrapped in old bandages. After a bit of fighting hikaru decided the woman didn't mean her any harm.</p>
<p>When she walked up the stairs she was shocked by the amount of kids there running around and playing. While she waited for mikki she leaned down and stared at the youngest one in the bunch, a one year old little girl.</p>
<p>"That's Momo," a young boy said, standing behind her. "Who are you?"</p>
<p>"None of your business!"</p>
<p>"Whatever freak."</p>
<p>"Aiko, that wasn't nice." Mikki was holding a bundle of fresh clothes. "Okay let's get you out of this old hoodie!" Mikki unzips it before Hikaru has a chance to react. In her struggle her hood falls down revealing two large fluffy calico cat ears.</p>
<p>Hikaru looks away as she pulls her hood up but Mikki stops her.</p>
<p>"In this house we don't feel ashamed of who we are or what we look like." Mikki had a tanuki type quirk, she had small pointed ears on the top of her head and a large fluffy tail that she gestured to. "You see, nothing to hide."</p>
<p>"You should probably hide it," Aiko says, taking a bite of his sandwich.</p>
<p>"Aiko!"</p>
<p>"I only mean because of-" and before he could finish his sentence momo grabs hikaru's tail causing her to jump. "Thats why."</p>
<p>"Help she won't let go," hikaru's cat-like instincts kicked in, she started running around the whole house with baby Momo being dragged in her basket closely behind. Aiko falls to the ground laughing while Mikki tries to catch the two.</p>
<p>When Mikki finally gets everyone calmed down, Hikaru stands in the corner panting and clutching her tail. Despite such a distressful first meeting in the following years hikaru would grow to love little Momo.</p>
<p>When hikaru got a little older she started going on what she called 'hunting trips' as a way to pay the kindness she received forward. She'd go around and inform kids of Wayward like that strange woman, later revealed to be Ghost, did for her.</p>
<p>Hikaru grabbed a train to the south side and just proceeded to walk around. She handed the Wayward address to a few delinquents she came across and just mostly strolled down the busy streets.</p>
<p>About half passed four she decided to call it a day until she heard the faint sound of crying down an ally. She approached cautiously only to spot a young girl hiding behind the dumpster. "Hey are you okay?"</p>
<p>The little girl flinched as she looked up. Her face was covered in blood and so were her clothes. This caused hikaru to look around, there was blood splattered everywhere. She took a step back.</p>
<p>"I didn't mean to," she sniffles, "It was an accident I swear!"</p>
<p>"Holy fucking shit."</p>
<p>"They were chasing me, I got scared, I couldn't control my quirk!"</p>
<p>Hikaru stared in horror, she glanced around the whole alleyway, there weren't any bodies. She pulls out her phone in a panic and calls Mikki. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>"Hey baby girl is everything alright?" Mikki picked up the phone as she was prepping for dinner.</p>
<p>Hikaru whispers, "I need help, major help, bring fresh clothes... She's about Aiko's size, bring Ghost."</p>
<p>"What? What's happening?" Panic filled Mikki as she heard the young girl crying in the background.</p>
<p>"I'm out of my depth, I need an adult!"</p>
<p>"Okay! Okay, I'll call Ghost, text me your location!" Mikki hangs up the phone and pulls off her apron, "Aiko!"</p>
<p>He pops into the room a few seconds later and is hit in the face with Mikki's apron and handed the knife she was cutting vegetables with.</p>
<p>"I have to go pick up Hikaru. I need you to finish dinner!" she grabbed her keys and coat before dashing out of the cafe.</p>
<p>Aiko stood there with a dumbfounded expression, "I don't know how to cook..." but it was too late, Mikki was already gone.</p>
<p>Mikki drove to the latest base where the next rally would be, she ran into the building. They were in the middle of setting up. One of the drones flew toward her and a speaker popped out.</p>
<p>"Oh hey Mikki, you're really early are you here to help set up," Parker asked through the drone.</p>
<p>Mikki's voice was shaking as she tried to catch her breath, "Where's Ghost?"</p>
<p>A little laser pointer popped out of the drone and pinpointed on Ghost's forehead on the other side of the rally hall, instinctively Ghost put her hands up.</p>
<p>"Thank you," she pushes her way through the followers. She grabs Ghost by her coat and drags her along, Ghost just accepts this and goes with it. "I need your help, i'm not sure why."</p>
<p>'I guess this is my life now,'  Ghost thinks to herself being pulled through the base.</p>
<p>After a long drive they finally make it to the alleyway with hikaru hissing at people just trying to walk by. Mikki immediately grabs her into a hug, "What's wrong? Are you hurt? What happened?" Mikki is inspecting her all over while Ghost slowly walks into the alleyway.</p>
<p>"Wait, Ghost she's-" Hikaru tries to stop her but Ghost keeps walking in. she leans down in front of the little girl, she puts her hand on the little girl's head.</p>
<p>She doesn't look up, "I didn't mean to, I swear."</p>
<p>'Can you speak for me?' Ghost signs at Mikki.</p>
<p>Mikki nods and starts to repeat everything, "What's your name?"</p>
<p>"Clara."</p>
<p>"Did you run away from home?"</p>
<p>Clara looks up and nods her head.</p>
<p>"Now can you tell me what happened?"</p>
<p>Clara wipes the tears from her face, "these men, they were following me, I tried to lose them. He grabbed me and my quirk," she loses herself in her words as she begins to cry again.</p>
<p>"Can you tell me what your quirk is?"</p>
<p>"I can distort reality sometimes, can't control it though, it's why I ran away. I hurt my sister. I never wanted to do that again. And then those men!"</p>
<p>Ghost picks up the young girl, she was about fifteen but was light as a feather. She patted hikaru on head before walking back to the car.</p>
<p>"We're not gonna take her home are we? What if she hurts one of the kids!"</p>
<p>Mikki gives her a sweet smile, "At Wayward we don't turn away any child in need."</p>
<p>Back at the Wayward cafe, everything was chaos. Aiko was laying on the ground crying underneath the dining room table. One of the kids, Axel, was trying to put out a fire in the microwave. Blaine was just kinda there, watching in awe at the sheer level of stupidity. Several other kids were running around.</p>
<p>Ghost walks hand in hand with Clara followed by Mikki and Hikaru, they all take a moment to stare in absolute shock before a switch flips in Mikki's head and she jumps into action, "What happened?!" she screams picking up a fire extinguisher to help Axel.</p>
<p>Ghost looks at Hikaru,  "it always like this?"</p>
<p>"Unfortunately, ignore them, Clara, let me show you to your room." She takes Clara's hand and leads her away from the chaos.</p>
<p>Ghost leans down in front of Aiko while Mikki is still panicking. "Alright there bud?"</p>
<p>Aiko simply rolls to face the other direction.</p>
<p>Momo tugs on her trench coat, she's crying. Ghost instinctively picks her up. She pulls down her mask "Once upon a time the house fell silent and everyone froze for a minute. The fire chose to burn out on its own and the smell of burning plastic left the air. Once everyone had a chance to breathe they regained free will to do as they please. The end."</p>
<p>Once everyone has a chance to calm down, Mikki grabs Blaine and shakes them, "What happened?"</p>
<p>"In my defence we were left unsupervised."</p>
<p>"Where's Aiko?" she screams, Blaine points to under the table.</p>
<p>She grabs Aiko by the ankle and pulls him out from under the table. "YOU WERE SUPPOSED TO COOK DINNER NOT BURN DOWN THE HOUSE!"</p>
<p>"I don't know what went wrong!" he says in a shaky voice trying to repress his spikes.</p>
<p>She sighs, "I'm sorry for yelling, how did the microwave explode? You didn't even need the microwave."</p>
<p>"That was actually my fault." Blaine says raising their hand, "I tried to make a bag of rice, I forgot to open the bag."</p>
<p>"I want all of you to take offence to this but how are you all this stupid?" Mikki helps Aiko stand up and tries to calm his shaking. "Are you okay?"</p>
<p>Aiko shakes his head yes. Blaine holds out his arm, "I cut myself trying to help with the veggies."</p>
<p>"None of you are ever allowed to be left alone ever again, also tomorrow im making you all watch safety videos." The room breaks out in a mutual groan.</p>
<p>Clara sits sniffling atop her bed, she doesn't really have anything to unpack and she's too nervous to interact with the other kids. Ghosts walks into the room and leans down in front of her, she holds out her notepad for Clara to read.</p>
<p>'My name is Ghost'</p>
<p>"Can you not speak?" Ghost nods her head, "I know how to read sign, I can't really use it because my hands aren't coordinated enough." </p>
<p>Ghost sets the notepad aside and takes off her mask so she looks at least slightly less intimidating. "You know, my quirk is a lot like yours."</p>
<p>"Really?"</p>
<p>She nods,  "when i activate it i gain the ability to speak and everything i say comes true."</p>
<p>"That sounds very scary."</p>
<p>"It was, at first. But I realized being in control is very useful. It seemed like in that alleyway you deleted their body, leaving nothing but blood behind. Those men were going to hurt you, it was self defence and they deserved it."</p>
<p>"My sister didn't deserve what happened, I can't control it, I don't want this quirk!"</p>
<p>"Let me ask you something, what's your favorite thing in the whole world?"</p>
<p>"What?"</p>
<p>"What's your favorite thing?"</p>
<p>"I really like stars, one of my first memories is laying in the grass with my mom looking at a meteor shower."</p>
<p>"Why don't you close your eyes and paint me a word picture." Ghost held her hands as Clara closed her eyes.</p>
<p>"At first nothing was happening but regardless the sky was pretty, like someone sprayed water on glass. Just hundreds of sparkling little circles. You know I still don't understand why some stars look blue or red." She laughs slightly, "um, there was like this large band of stars stretched across the sky. I think i fell asleep while I was waiting. My mom shook me and told me to look up. There were hundreds of white streaks in the sky. It looked amazing."</p>
<p>Ghost placed her hand on Clara's cheek to tell her to open her eyes. Her quirk had activated and filled the room with a miniature galaxy. Stars filled every inch of the room and tiny meteors flew by. It shined like a thousand diamonds in sunlight. Claras face lit up with pure wonder.</p>
<p>"See, it's not all bad."</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Aiko was laying in his bed, he'd calm down but he was still mostly anxious when he heard a knock on the door. "Go away!"</p>
<p>"Its me dum dum," Aiko recognized the voice as hikaru and let her in. "Are you okay?"</p>
<p>"I'm fine," he lays back down.</p>
<p>"Are you? I know what fire does to you."</p>
<p>"Im fine."</p>
<p>"Do you wanna go sit on the roof and eat some special brownies?"</p>
<p>"Where the fuck did you get brownies?" </p>
<p>"I went hunting today, you think I'm not gonna spend my snack money on fun stuff?"</p>
<p>"Fair."</p>
<p>Hikaru opens the window and crawls out onto the fire escape, "Try not to fall this time."</p>
<p>"Go fuck yourself," he chuckled.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0006"><h2>6. Allmight Square</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>The night of the rally police were scrambling to help find the missing heroes, if only they knew what would come. The rally was being held in an old two story warehouse often used for secret raves and huge parties. Ghost, Sapphire, Parker, and a few followers walked down the steps. Ghost's quirk was already activated, the book behind her read, 'The imprisoned heroes follow in a line behind us silently.'</p><p>The heroes were dressed in orange jumpsuits. They were all handcuffed and chained at the ankles. It wasn't necessary but it felt appropriate. The heroes were also splashed in fake blood that stained their clothes and skin. The lights flickered to notify the crowd that the rally was starting.</p><p>For the first time Ghost let them keep the ability to speak, the crowd booed and screamed hateful things at the heroes as everyone stepped on stage. She holds out her hand and the crowd goes silent. "Many of you may recognise these heroes, many of you were hurt personally by them. In your life I'm sure some of you have heard the saying: 'if you kill a murderer, the number of killers in the world stays the same.' If that's true, why stop at one?" the crowd screams in agreement. "The heroes, Marksman, Liquid Fury and Cosmic Wolf step to the front stage and kneel before the crowd."</p><p>Despite every bone in their body begging them not to, the three step out of line and kneel before the onlookers. "Parker, read out their crimes."</p><p> </p><p>Parker steps forward and lifts the first page, she folds it over her clipboard and begins to read. "Marksmen, a former hired hitman, 276 confirmed kills, hundreds of more yet to be discovered. When caught by heroes, instead of making him answer for his crimes, he was handed a dart gun and given a job."</p><p>"The hero Marksmen regains the ability to speak. How do you plead?" Ghost asks but he does not respond. He stays silent. There is nothing he could say that would justify his actions. "Very well."</p><p>Sapphire walks onto center stage carrying a silver serving tray with three perfectly sharpened knives. She places a knife in front of each of them before exiting.</p><p>"Marksman picks up the knife and holds it in front of his eyes." He tried to fight this action to no avail. He was forced to stare at the tip as Ghost continued, "With these eyes he targeted and killed hundreds with pinpoint accuracy. He began to slowly gouge his eyes out."</p><p>The crowd was dead silent as the man's screams filled the warehouse, he tried to stop but he kept shoving the knife in and out of his skull. "He fell silent as he set the knife down."</p><p>Though no one would hear him he would scream within his mind, he would collapse if he could. Ghost walked over and stepped in front of Fury. Parker flips to the next page, "Liquid Fury. While chasing the known villain SharkBait, wrapped his water tentacle around Lucas. He was a sixteen year old boy who was learning how to surf. Fury grabbed him by the ankle and bashed him on the coral reef below for 5 minutes. His body was barely recognizable by the time he realized SharkBait got away."</p><p>"Liquid Fury regains the ability to speak. How do you plead?"</p><p>Fury immediately breaks out into pained tears, "GUILTY!" he screams into the air, "I killed that poor little boy! It has haunted me everyday for the past six years, but it was an accident, I swear!"</p><p>"Tell that to his parents, that couldn't even confirm his body. Fury picks up the knife, he slowly cuts off his own ears for he couldn't hear the boys screams. Why should he be allowed to have them?"</p><p>Fury believes he deserves this, he tried to hold back his cries and only lets out pained whimpers. Parker flips to the next page, "Cosmic wolf, his venom was known to paralyze people for several hours, he used this to attack and rape his female fans. Twenty-seven confirmed cases all covered up. Who knows how many there are that did not report his crimes."</p><p>Ghost leans down in front of Wolf, "Cosmic Wolf regains the ability to speak how do-" wolf cuts her off as he begins to bark.</p><p>"I WILL SLIT YOUR THROAT AND FUCK THE HOLE IN FRONT OF YOUR WEEPING FATHER!" he screams into her face.</p><p>"Good luck finding him, Wolf picks up the knife and cuts out his own tongue."</p><p>"I WILL NOT BEND TO YOUR-" his words were replaced with screams as the knife entered his mouth. </p><p> </p><p>Ghost stands to look at the crowd while gesturing to the heroes behind, "These are only the few crimes of many. The heroes that stand before you have either killed, raped, abused, or overall taken advantage of their power. They do not deserve the life they have."</p><p>Sapphire walks onto stage and hands each hero a knife of their own. "Each hero here today picks up a knife, places it to their throats, and slits them open. They will remain standing till they die."</p><p>Each hero slits their own throat, blood sprays out and pools onto the floor. Ghost takes off her gloves, she leans down and dips her hands into the blood and holds it out for the crowd to see. "Right now the blood of these heroes are on my hands and my hands alone. We as people have stayed silent for too long, we need to fight back! Who will join me!"</p><p>Almost instantly the crowd pushes forward everyone taking turns dipping their hands into the blood pouring off the stage, the heroes collapse one after another. Everyone pushes their hands into the air.</p><p>"ALL HEROS" Ghost starts.</p><p>"ARE VILLAINS" the crowd finishes.</p><p>They go back and forth screaming this several times only getting louder each time. The warehouse almost shook to its core.</p><p>"I want everyone here to take to the streets tomorrow," a few followers on stage bring out boxes and begin throwing out masks similar to Ghosts into the crowd. "I want you to stand in front of her local hero agency and make your voices heard! Those who crave justice will gather on the northside in Almight Square and wait for my signal."</p><p>Everyone points their fists to the sky as they cheer, some chanting still, others saying they will follow, but most just cheering.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>After the rally Ghost decides to visit Max one last time, when she opens the door she's happy to see them and immediately pulls Ghost in for a kiss, after another intimate moment Ghost sits hunched over on the edge of max's bed.</p><p>"You seem distracted today," she leans over Ghost's shoulders wrapping her arms around her neck. "Did something happen?" Ghost doesn't answer her, Max pulls away and traces Ghost's tattoos with her finger.</p><p>Her back and arms were covered in tattoos, there was a large sun on her back with a single crying eye. Below that was a beautiful upside down cross with the words 'in God we trust' inside it. On either side were two hands making peace signs, one was upside down. Below each hand was a crescent shaped moon. On her left shoulder the words 'Lilith bring me wisdom,a snack was coiled around her forearm. On her right shoulder the words ' Eve bring me strength'. On her right forearm was a tree branch with a single golden apple, an open bible with the words 'My word is law' on the pages, above that was a semicolon.</p><p>"I'm not very religious but even I have to admit these are stunning." She takes a short pause to think, "Do you really think god spoke to you?" Ghost nods her head in response. </p><p>"you know I have to admit i've been a little out of it today too. I keep thinking about those missing heroes, their families must be so worried. You know they think the league of villains is behind it." Max lays down and tries to get comfortable.</p><p>"I think I really got lucky, all the heroes were snatched from the east side. I could have been one of them. It's kinda scary."</p><p>Ghost leans over and gives her a kiss in hopes it will make her stop talking. She pulls away and continues to sit on the edge of the bed, Max grabs her hand. Ghost can't ask why so she simply looks at her.</p><p>"I'm tired, but I know if I fall asleep, when I wake up you won't be here. This way you can't leave." Ghost decides to lay down next to her and Max drifts away. When she wakes up Ghost is gone, she wonders if she'll ever be there in the morning.</p><p>Like the day before her agency was a wreck, the higher ups wanted more patrols, most were placed in Almight Square, they got an anonymous tip something would happen so they gathered most of the heroes there. Everyone was just waiting for LOV to show up.</p><p>Max patrolled with another pro hero Mimic; Mimic had the ability to make clones that resembled anyone she chooses, it was used to disorient their targets. When wounded they'd simply vanish as if they were made of light.</p><p>"I don't think this is right, there are so many people, shouldn't we evacuate?"</p><p>"Don't be silly, if we evacuate it will just start a panic, then we might not even catch the league. The lives of a few for the many is a justified statement"</p><p>"That's exactly why people hate heroes," Max says under her breath.</p><p>The morning was silent, everything seemed normal. The girls were just about ready to break for lunch when gravity seemed to triple. They, along with every hero in the square collapsed with the force of falling from a three story building the round cracked below them. Max struggling on the ground looks up, the civilians were unaffected and simply starred.</p><p>"Whats happening!?" Mimic shouts, barely being able to lift their head, they try to activate their quirk but the clones collapse just as the heroes did. Max's eyes dart to every person around them as they each slowly pull out a mask. It was jet black, with white teeth. Something drops in max's body. As if the world around her shattered.</p><p>"No, no she wouldn't do this!" she tries to push herself up only to collapse back down the gravity getting worse. "I'M NOT AFFECTED BY GHOST'S QUIRK!" she screams into the air, her words take physical form in her mouth and the weight on her body is gone. She jumps up and looks around her. The followers are forming a riot, they've set the local hero agency on fire. Dozens of heroes are being pinned to the ground by the invisible weight, some followers are beating those who are down.</p><p>"HELP ME YOU STUPID BITCH!" mimic screams trying their best to look at max.</p><p>"I," she looks around she knows Ghost must be close, "I have to," and there she was, perched on the roof of an office building down the road. She could see Ghost with her arms outstretched as if she was preaching gospel her pages were being filled fast, she couldn't read them so she feared the worst. "I know how to stop this!" She took off running.</p><p>"DON'T LEAVE ME!"</p><p>"I have wings!" Max shouts and takes off flying toward Ghost at a high velocity, tears flowing from her eyes, she didn't know if it was from the wind or everything running in her mind. It might have been both.</p><p>"Stop!" she shouts as she collides with Ghost, pushing her into the book floating behind. They take a tumble and both land on top of it. "I trusted you! I, I believed in your message! But this?" she gestures to the distance. You could hear the screams of heroes and rioters alike, "You didn't preach this!"</p><p>Max was still atop Ghost she was hunched over, her tears landed onto Ghost's cheeks. She didn't say anything. The world began to catch up with her words and the hero agency began to collapse in the distance.</p><p>"I thought you were the change our world needed! You're no different than those you fight!" Max tries to wipe her face and catch her breath.</p><p>At that moment Ghost wanted to say so much to her, her quirk was activated, she could've said something but she couldn't.</p><p>"It was never the league was it? It was always you," she grabs Ghost by her coat collar. "Where are the missing heroes?"</p><p>"I killed them last night," Ghost raises her hand to place it on Max's cheek. She's already betrayed Max, she might as well break her heart. It will make everything easier from this point on. "You were just my cover, I'm sorry I involved you. But know you let a killer into your home, the same hands that held you are stained in hero blood." Max's eyes go wide, more tears fall from her eyes.</p><p>"The whole time?"</p><p>"Why doesn't my quirk affect you."</p><p>Max stands up and stumbles backwards, "Why? Why did you..."</p><p>Ghost stands up and grabs her by the wrist, "What did you expect? Look at what the heroes have done!"</p><p>"THE HERO'S DOWN IN THAT SQUARE HAVE DONE NOTHING!"</p><p>Somehow in Ghosts mind if she can make Max hate her she'll feel less guilty about the measures she's taking. Something about Max gave her hope. Hope was for fools.</p><p>"I loved you."</p><p>Max's confession was like an arrow in her chest, Ghost could feel the tears welling up behind her eyes but she quickly tried to get a grip. "Don't you get it, you preach about wanting to be a hero, a real one yet look at what you're doing! Dozens of heroes are in that square struggling and here you are. You're not even attacking me!" Max doesn't respond, Ghost is right, she's a hypocrite. "Go on, hit me! Be the hero you claim to be!"</p><p>Max clenches her fists.</p><p>"Hit me Max!"</p><p>"I."</p><p>"DO IT!"</p><p>"MY ARMS ARE MADE OF STEEL!" she screams and goes in for a punch.</p><p>"She collapses!" but she doesn't; she hits Ghost straight in the nose with the force of a cannon. Ghost slams into the book behind her. The air is knocked out of her and she falls to her knees. "Fucking hell, you broke my nose!"</p><p>Max breathes heavily, "Your quirk doesn't work on me, remember." She holds out her tongue so Ghost can see the paper in her mouth. "You're not the only one who can tell stories."</p><p>Ghost jumps up and grabs her by the arms and forces her into a kiss, when she pulls away Max collapses, Ghost spits out the paper. "Max loses the ability to speak."</p><p>Max, once again being crushed by the extra gravity struggles to move. Her eyes are filled with rage as she stares up at Ghost.</p><p>"It's better this way." She pulls her mask over her face and leaves the roof. An unmarked car is waiting for her behind the building. As they drive away Ghost deactivates her quirk. They've made the statement they wanted to.</p><p>The rioters were quickly suppressed and taken into custody. Max finally pulls herself off the ground filled with an unquenched rage. She wouldn't let her guard down next time.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>at HIA headquarters Max was one of the heroes placed on the new AHAV investigation team. She was alongside Mr. Magma, his sidekick Extinguish, Mimic, Smoke bomb, and The Actress. They all sat around a large table, Max's arms crossed, she stared at Mr. Magma.</p><p>"We were lucky, though a lot injured none of the heroes died. And thanks to Silver tongue we actually have reliable information on Ghost, yet again."</p><p>That was the first time someone really called her by her hero name so it caught her off guard a little.</p><p>"That's not suspicious at all," Mimic says rolling their eyes.</p><p>Mr. Magma sighs, "That's enough Mimic, I'm sorry you got your baby feelings hurt but can it wait till AFTER THE MEETING?!" as he screams a little bit of lava flies from his mouth and burns a hole in the table. Mimic sinks into the chair like a wounded puppy. "Silver!"</p><p>"Yes sir?"</p><p>"Because of the amount of intel you've brought to us I am willing to overlook the fact that you were secretly in contact with this Ghost Writer. If she ever approaches you again, notify us immediately."</p><p>"Yes sir."</p><p>"We are going to hunt down. Every, last, one of them."</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0007"><h2>7. The Farm</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>The city is in chaos, cop cars swarm the area as Ghost slips away.  After a short drive they pull into a parking garage and move to the lowest floor. three other cars are already there. Parker, sapphire, Lieutenant and a handful of followers are waiting. </p>
<p>"What happened to your face?"</p>
<p>"It's complicated. Does anyone have a first aid kit?"  One of the followers step forward, she has a creation quirk. She cleans Ghost up and sets her nose back in place, stuffs it with gauze and places a splint on it. </p>
<p>Parker steps forward, "Okay! So things didn't really go according to plan! But we gotta move!"</p>
<p>Sapphire crosses her arms, "What do we do now?"</p>
<p>"We have to get out of the city," one of the followers begins handing out a change of clothes. "Change quickly, we don't have time to be bashful."</p>
<p>They all begin to undress and switch into civilian clothes however Ghost leaves on her mask.</p>
<p>"Luckily I always have a plan B," Parker says as she slips on a pair of jeans. She gestures to the beat up truck sitting in the corner. "They'll be looking for unmarked cars so they won't notice us."</p>
<p>Sapphire rips the mask off Ghost's face and tosses it to one of the followers. "Loose the earrings too, I always thought they were tacky."</p>
<p>Despite her annoyed expression, Ghost takes them off and hands them off. "Please dont lose them."</p>
<p> </p>
<p>"Unfortunately I didn't think it would go as bad as it did, I didn't really plan ahead much on the where too. Which is my fault, I should always assume the worst."</p>
<p>"I know where we can go." Ghost hops into the driver's seat.</p>
<p>"You only wanna drive when you want to avoid talking," Parker opens the passenger seat. Sapphire hops in the back seat followed by Lieutenant. "I'm sorry we have to leave you all behind, lay low, don't talk to anyone." The followers nod and begin to disburse as they drive off.</p>
<p>They pass cop car after cop car but are never pulled over. Once they're out of the city Sapphire rolls the window down for Lieutenant, she instantly sticks her head out.</p>
<p>"You don't have to respond but let's talk about what happened, Ghost you really halted everyone's mission. You were supposed to hold the heroes down, Sapphire was supposed to collapse the building, and I was supposed to flood the police department with reports. Our followers protested all over the city but our focus was right there, in Almight Square. Yes Sapphire got to collapse the building but she was almost captured because you let the heroes up. I could no longer focus on my mission because I had to scrabble and initiate plan B. I just don't understand what happened."</p>
<p>One handed Ghost tries to sign out, "I don't want to discuss this right now."</p>
<p>Sapphire stares out the window, the longer they drive the less populated the world feels. After about three hours the only thing to see is farmland.</p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<p>Aiko wakes up after a not so pleasant night, he was told about the protests the night before so of course his mind wandered into dark places. He always feared the worst, he walks into the common room to everyone having a family meeting.</p>
<p>"Good morning aiko," mikki gives him a little smile.</p>
<p>"What's going on? Why didn't you wake me up."</p>
<p>"I was just gonna let you sleep in, plus you're not the one im worried about," Mikki glares just a little bit at hikaru.</p>
<p>"I just think we should be allowed to go to the protests," hikaru is pacing back and forth as she continues to shout a little. "I'm not saying all of us but at least the older kids! You don't even have to come, I can look after the others while we're there!" She points to her backpack by the door, "Look, I even packed snacks! And a first aid kit!"</p>
<p>Mikki sighs as aiko moves past her toward the kitchen, "hikaru I don't doubt you could handle yourself I just don't want any of you going out today."</p>
<p>"You used to let us go to all the rallies and protests, it's bad enough you wouldn't let us go last night! And now this?"</p>
<p>Aiko opens the fridge, there is a lot of yelling going on right now and the only thing that could possibly make him feel better is a glass of chocolate milk.</p>
<p>"Do you not trust us anymore? Is that what it is?"</p>
<p>"No, that's not the reason!"</p>
<p>Aiko pushes most of the food out of the way, there wasn't much left last night so he hid the jug in the back.</p>
<p>"Then why? Why are you treating us like little kids!"</p>
<p>"CAUSE YOU ARE KIDS!" mikki doesn't always yell but when she does it sends a chill up everyone's spine. "Look, I know you all have very strong feelings about the movement right now."</p>
<p>Aiko was trying his best to ignore all the yelling but he couldn't find it, he finally turned around to look at everyone. In the middle of the sofa sat blaine, holding an almost empty glass of chocolate milk. Aiko decided that was enough for right now and went back to bed as mikki continued her rant.</p>
<p>"And I know at least a few of you really wanna join Ghost as a follower but,"</p>
<p>Blaine raises one of their hands, "Don't forget biting, I wanna bite a hero, at least once."</p>
<p>Mikki lets out a little chuckle, "that too, but you're all still kids. Hikaru I know you're gonna be seventeen soon but you're still a kid. And while you're still a kid I'm going to protect you."</p>
<p>Hikaru looks up and sighs, "you don't have to protect me, I'm strong, i'm really strong. I don't wanna sit on the sidelines while everyone else is fighting for what's right."</p>
<p>Mikki pulls her into a hug, "I know you are, but I won't risk any of your lives."</p>
<p>"It's just a protest, the worst that could happen is someone steps on my tail."</p>
<p>"That's the thing, it's not the worst thing. Ignoring the heroes, even the police can be brutal," she pulls away to make sure everyones looking at her. "They will tear gas you, shoot rubber bullets, they'll hose you down like animals and beat you down. Do you really think they'd care that you're a kid?"</p>
<p>There was a deafening silence that followed, "you've already been through so much, I refuse to let you take part in whatever war Ghost intends to start."</p>
<p>As the day went on most of the kids decided to watch the protest on the news, they looked on in horror about how quickly heroes turned it into a riot. Everything was peaceful till a hero accidentally activated their quirk. Each news channel was on a different riot, except for what was happening in Almight Square. For some reason anytime a reporter tried to get close something compelled them not to turn on any of the cameras.</p>
<p>Most of the kids sat in front of the tv on the floor or on the sofa, aiko was sitting on a stool in front of the kitchen counter trying to eat his lunch, and little Momo was chasing Hikaru and Clara around the house in a game of tag.</p>
<p>She really wanted to watch the protest with the others but decided distracting momo from what was going on was a better choice. Mikki had dragged the love seat in front of the door leading down stairs and was currently resting her eyes. She had decided not to open the cafe today so she could keep a better eye on everyone, or she would be if she wasn't dozing off.</p>
<p>The house would have been silent if it wasn't for Momo laughing with the girls. They ran around for a while tagging each other. Hikaru even jumped over the sofa to get away from Clara. Despite everything that happened, despite everything happening, those three finally got a chance to act like kids.</p>
<p>Ever so slowly the other kids joined in one at a time, Blaine even scooped up momo and took a dive for her. they laid on the floor in a dramatic pose, "Oh no, they got me, Momo, run before I turn!" they started to make gurgling noises as if they were turning into a zombie and then snatched Momo up and pretended to bite her. "You're it!" Blaine shouted before putting her down and running away.</p>
<p>Momo stood there for a bit, everyone was in a wide stance ready to take off. She decided to run after Blaine first. They were a bit too fast, Momo ran after Clara next but tripped. She was a big girl though and didn't cry even though it really hurt.</p>
<p>When she stopped to catch her breath she looked over at Aiko, he was sitting all by himself. "Momo, you're supposed to chase us!" hikaru held out her hand, "Do you need a break, I can be it for a little while?" Momo smiled and tagged hikaru, her eyes locked onto Blaine and she darted after them.</p>
<p>Momo decided to invite Aiko to play with them so she got down on all fours to surprise him. She crawled up to the kitchen counter holding back her giggles. All the other kids were too busy running for their lives from hikaru to notice her. She jumped up and smacked Aiko on his back "COME PLAY WITH US!" she shouted, but the second she said it Aiko jumped and his quirk activated.</p>
<p>Through everyone's laughter momo's scream echoed through the house, mikki woke up instantly and everyone froze; except for Blaine who slid and fell on their ass because they were in socks and tried to stop suddenly.</p>
<p>Aiko turned around in horror to see little Momo crying holding her hand that now had a gaping hole dead center, it was gushing blood onto the floor. Aiko screamed as he fell off the stool and backed into the corner. As he stared at Momo he lost complete control, spikes were forming all over his body growing and shrinking at random. They tore more holes in his clothes than you could count.</p>
<p>Mikki jumped up and ran to her. She picked her up and sat her on the counter, "Oh my god, HIKARU GRAB ME A SHEET OR SOMETHING, ANYTHING!" everyone snapped out of it.</p>
<p>Hikaru dashed to the nearest closet and grabbed the first thing she saw. She gave it to Mikki who ripped the white sheet up and wrapped it around Momo's hands. She was wailing in pain, and Aiko was in the corner hyperventilating.</p>
<p>"What do we do?"</p>
<p>"We uh, we gotta take her to a hospital!" she darts over to the front door, "guys, help me move this stupid chair!" Clara and Blaine grab on as they drag it out of the way.</p>
<p>"Mom!"</p>
<p>"What?!"</p>
<p>"We don't have any of Momo's information, if we take her to the hospital they'll take her away!"</p>
<p>Mikki's heart dropped, she hadn't thought about that. She began to stutter, "We, we, we could, let's call Ghost! She could heal her!"</p>
<p>"...Mom."</p>
<p>Mikki walks over to weeping momo and picks her up. "I don't know what to do."</p>
<p>Clara stared at her hands for a moment, Ghost told her to breathe, and visualize. She'd been practicing little things since Ghost had helped her. "Maybe I could," everyone turns to Clara.</p>
<p>"Clara, I don't think." hikaru was a little nervous at the thought, as far as she knew the last time Clara activated her quirk she deleted two men out of existence.</p>
<p>"I, I've been practicing!"</p>
<p>Hikaru looks at Mikki, "what do we do?"</p>
<p>Mikki places Momo on the ground in front of Clara, "Let's try."</p>
<p>Clara takes Momo's injured hand gently and closes her eyes. In her brain she imagines a light bulb turning on and Momo's hand healing over. Every time it's healed she imagines it again. She takes deep breaths, everyone stands around her silently. The only noise being made by little Momo's cries.</p>
<p>After about three minutes Momo stops crying. Mikki quickly unwraps her hand and the wound is practically healed, it's one big scab but it's close enough.</p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<p>It was getting close to sunset when Ghost turned into a very long driveway, so long you couldn't see the house it led to. After a century-long drive, Parker finally broke the silence. "This is totally how we die, you know that right? This is how every horror movie starts."</p>
<p>Despite being very angry Sapphire let a laugh escape. After about ten minutes they finally saw the house. It was a light blue ranch house with a wrap-around porch. Ghost didn't park too close to the house so they had to walk up the hill a little. Lieutenant jumped out of the car instantly and ran around aimlessly.</p>
<p>"Ah, wait Lieutenant!" Parker shouts but she was already gone, "Okay Ghost come one we are not driving anymore you can talk to me, what is this place."</p>
<p>Ghost doesn't respond as they get close to the porch. The front door swings open with about as much force as possible, standing in the doorway is an older black woman with long dreads. There are tears in her eyes and a large smile on her face, "DANI!" she shouts before running full speed into Ghost's arms. Sapphire and Parker stare in disbelief, the old woman pulls away smiling ear to ear, she places both her hand on her Ghost's cheeks and kisses her all over her face.</p>
<p>When she finally stops she squishes Ghost's face, "something in the air told Sofi we'd have company but I never imagined it would be you! Oh Dani we missed you so much!"</p>
<p>Parker leans in close to Sapphire, "Whom, the fuck, is Dani?" she whispers.</p>
<p>The older woman pouts a little, "I understand why you can't call but you should at least visit more often!" </p>
<p>Parker and Sapphire stare in awe, Ghost has the most genuine smile they've ever seen across her face. Not long after another older woman steps into the doorway, she was about half the size of Ghost, a whopping four foot two. She had long hair pulled forward in a braid. As she walked you could hear the click of her cane. "Come inside, you're letting the heat out!"</p>
<p>Ghost smiles at them and walks into the house, Parker takes a moment to take in her surroundings, "Do you have any idea what's happening right now?"</p>
<p>Sapphire whistles for Lieutenant, "Not even a little."</p>
<p>As they step into the house Parker closes the door gently, the shorter woman gestures for Ghost to lean down. She gives her a good bear hug before pulling away to touch Ghost's face. At this moment Parker and Sapphire noticed her silver eyes, she was blind.</p>
<p>"You feel thin," she pushes her fingers through ghost's hair, "And you need a haircut. While you're here Clementine can shave your sides for you."</p>
<p> </p>
<p>The older Black woman finally shifts her attention away from Ghost and shakes Parker's hand and then Sapphires, "Hi, how y'all doing? My name's Clementine."</p>
<p>"I don't mean to be rude, but who are you guys?" Sapphire asks.</p>
<p>"You know it doesn't surprise me she doesn't talk too much about us, but we're Dani's moms," their eyes go wide, specifically sapphires. Her and Ghost grew up together, she knew Ghost's real mom. "Well, you know not legally, we were her foster family for a few years!"</p>
<p>Sapphire looks at Ghost, "so this is where you were after the immortal incident."</p>
<p>"Clementine we still have Dani's voice box somewhere can you help them find it." She and Ghost walk into the other room. "My name is Sofia, everyone calls me momma sofi. Feel free to do the same." She reaches out and Parker takes her hand, Sofia smiles and clenches it, "You have rough hands, we love a working woman!"</p>
<p>"Thank you, I'm a mechanic at heart but I work with a lot of things. My name is Parker."</p>
<p>Sofia glances in Sapphire's general direction, Parker steps aside so Sapphire can take the old woman's hand, "And what are your names?"</p>
<p>"Names?"</p>
<p>"I can sense two spirits reside in you, were you unaware of this?"</p>
<p>Sapphire is a little shocked by this but lets herself smile, despite the woman not being able to see she knows to smile back. "No I knew, it's just that most people don't notice. Our names are Sapphire and Cheyenne."</p>
<p>"And which one are you right now?"</p>
<p>"Im Sapphire."</p>
<p>"Such a pretty name," Ghost walks back in holding a little grey box. It had a keyboard and a speaker. "Did you find it?"</p>
<p>Ghost begins to type and out of the speaker pops out the words, "Yes I did."  It sounds almost human, but can clearly tell its robotic in origin. </p>
<p>Parker furrows her brow, "Why haven't you been using one of these this whole time? You walk around with a notepad of all things"</p>
<p>"I forgot it when I moved."</p>
<p>"Why didn't you buy another one?"</p>
<p>"Parker, they're expensive."</p>
<p>Sofia walks toward the dining room, "come let's eat, the wind told me company was coming so i made extra food."</p>
<p>"I'm actually starving," Parker says following.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0008"><h2>8. Childhood Sucks</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Dinner was mostly silent among the three, Sofi and Clementine asked everyone a lot of questions and the girls did their best to answer as honestly as they could but as time went on Sapphire grew more and more angry; Not at the older woman, but at Ghost</p>
<p>Ghost stopped eating for a minute to type something on her voice box, "Where's Mary?"</p>
<p>"She actually started her freshman year in college!"</p>
<p>A semi annoyed look comes across sofi's face "sabrías si alguna vez visitaras"</p>
<p>Ghost chooses not to respond and continues eating</p>
<p>"Gh- I mean Dani," Parker smiles, "could you hand me the butter?"</p>
<p>As Ghost reaches over the table something snaps in Sapphire and she sets her fork down.</p>
<p>"Are we gonna talk about what happened today?"</p>
<p>"Sapphire I don't think this is the-" Sapphire cuts Parker off before she can finish.</p>
<p>"We can't just sit here and fucking ignore what happened and we sure as hell shouldn't be involving these nice people!"</p>
<p>"Language!" clementine shouts. </p>
<p>Parker and Ghost stare at her wide-eyed as Sapphire begins to raise her voice, "Half our followers are in jail Ghost! We can't just pretend that didn't happen."</p>
<p>Sofia and Clementine look at each other, "Followers?"</p>
<p>"YOU RUINED OUR MISSION CAUSE YOU FELL IN LOVE WITH A FUCKING HERO!" she shouts standing up. Ghost went to activate her quirk so she can have the satisfaction of being able to yell back but Sofi slams her hands on the table.</p>
<p>"no habrá gritos en la mesa ¡llévalo afuera!"</p>
<p>At the sound of her voice everyone froze until Sapphire kicked her chair back and stormed outside, Ghost sighed and followed behind.</p>
<p>Parker goes to stand up but Sofi takes her hand, "You should let them be, sometimes you gotta let people fight it out. Why don't you tell us what's going on?</p>
<p>"I don't think-"</p>
<p>"Now baby, in this house we protect our own. You're not gonna find a rat in this house."</p>
<p>Clementine puts on a big smile, "Unless of course you've raped or killed a child, but if that's the case you don't have to worry about the police, we'll kill you ourselves"</p>
<p>"I think we're all going to get along swimmingly."</p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<p>Outside the two walked toward the barn, "Once upon a time we could yell as loud as we wanted and no one could hear us!"</p>
<p>"Good!" Sapphire slams the door open. "What do you have to say for yourself?"</p>
<p>"A lot of things happened yes, but that mission wasn't a complete failure! It's still a message, you still collapsed that building!" </p>
<p>"That's not the point Ghost!"</p>
<p>"What is then?!"</p>
<p>"The point is you never think things through!"</p>
<p>"I th-" Sapphire cuts her and steps right up to Ghost.</p>
<p>"No you don't! That's the problem! You compromised our mission, you fell in love with a hero!"</p>
<p>"I don't love her!"</p>
<p>"Don't lie to me!"</p>
<p>Ghost gently pushes Sapphire out of her face, "I can't deal with you when you're like this! Why don't you let Cheyenne front for a bit, she's the reasonable one!"</p>
<p>"Don't you dare! You have no idea what it's like for me!"</p>
<p>"The fact that you're unstable? I think I understand that!"</p>
<p>Sapphire smacks Ghost across the face disregarding the fact she already has a broken nose. "Don't act like you still know me, a lot changed in those four years you were gone."</p>
<p>"I know you! I've known you my whole life!"</p>
<p>"If you knew me you'd understand! These missions are important and you threw it all away because you couldn't focus, you didn't even have to hurt Max! You could've just knocked her out like a sensible person!"</p>
<p>"There will be more missions!"</p>
<p>"These missions mean everything to me because after each one we, I, get closer to my revenge!"</p>
<p>"We all want revenge, Sapphire, we all have someone we want to punish!"</p>
<p>"You don't get it! Your mother's death was collateral damage! I was beat everyday. everyday! I'm sorry your dad left and I'm sorry your mom died but you had a good childhood! One tragedy and then got to live on a farm in the countryside! MY LIFE WAS A TRAGEDY! I thought you were dead I was all alone in the world"</p>
<p>Ghost takes a step back as tears well in her eyes, "Oh im sorry, do you wanna blame the 16 year old girl for not knowing about your shitty life? My mom loved you and if you'd had told her what was happening she would have found a way to help you. It's not like you advertised what was happening!"</p>
<p>"YOU SHOULD OF SEEN IT!"</p>
<p>"NO WHAT WAS WRONG WAS YOU CONVINCED YOURSELF YOU DESERVED IT AND NOW RATHER THEN ADMIT YOU WE A DUMB KID YOU BLAME ME! God forbid I got placed in a home that loved me!"</p>
<p>"You left me all alone!"</p>
<p>"I DIDN'T LEAVE! I was taken away! You think I had a choice? it's very bold of you to assume I didn't try to look for you! I'd never been to your house, we always went to mine. And even if i knew your number i wouldn't be able to call you! For god's sake Sapphire I laid in my mom's blood for 3 days. I broke practically every bone in my body. Do you really think I didn't lay there thinking of everyone, of you?"</p>
<p>Ghost takes a moment to steady her breathing, Sapphire stays tense. She breathes rapidly through her nose with her fists clenched.</p>
<p>"This isn't some pissing contest of who had the worst childhood, your pain doesn't outweigh mine," Ghost looks away, "and the fact that you think it does, hurts, it really does." Ghost steps out of the barn.</p>
<p>"DON'T YOU WALK AWAY FROM THIS!"</p>
<p>"No Sapphire, why don't you break out of your little bubble where you think everything revolves around your life! IT DOESN'T!"</p>
<p>"Well it doesn't revolve around you either!"</p>
<p>Ghost turns around, "You're right it doesn't, but at least I don't pretend like it does, at least I understand that everyone was hurt in the immortal incident. Lots of people lost family, you're not the only kid in the world who got beat by their dad! I can name seven Wayward kids right now who have! Trust me when I say their lives were worse."</p>
<p>"Shut up!"</p>
<p>"You're dad and step mom were pro heroes, you lived in a great big house that always had food!"</p>
<p>"Stop!"</p>
<p>"Your step mom loved you so much. And you know what?"</p>
<p>"Don't you dare."</p>
<p>"I remember how you acted back then, maybe your dad wouldn't have beaten you if you behaved!"</p>
<p>Sapphire's anger triples with a mix of sadness as lava falls from her eyes as if they were tears. As they fall on the hay covered ground it sets the floor on fire but neither of them move. "You're a horrible person, I hate you!"</p>
<p>"So you can say whatever you want to me about my past yet I can't state the obvious?!"</p>
<p>Sapphire tries to wipe her face and ends up flinging it on the walls, neither notice how bad it's getting; they're too absorbed in their argument. "It's not like I just got slapped across the face or something every time i got bad grades or if i spoke out." The barn creaks as the fire climbs up the wall, "Ghost I knocked over a lamp once and my dad tried to drown me. I remember my step mom Zarya screaming and burning herself trying to get him off me. I haven't seen her in a while but I assume she still can't feel anything in her left hand."</p>
<p>With that every ounce of adrenaline pumping through Ghost vanished. It was as if her entire body sank and the weight of her words caught up to her. She unknowingly deactivated her quirk as if her brain decided she needed to be silenced she reached out to Sapphire. By then the fire had reached the roof and it began to cave in. Sapphire noticed this first and dove into Ghost pushing them both out of the barn. "WATCH OUT!" They hit the ground hard and Ghost finally realized the state of everything. It would have been pitch black out, it was a new moon with clouds covering the stars. The only light for miles was from the house and the intense light of the burning barn. Sapphire stood up first and pulled a hair tie off her wrist, her entire demeanor changed. She pulled her hair back into two pom poms. Cheyenne took the front wheel.</p>
<p>As she walked away Ghost tried to shout out something, an apology or maybe just her name, but she hadn't noticed her quirk isn't active and nothing escaped her mouth. She decided to just let her leave, she rolled onto her back and watched the smoke fill the sky. She wanted a moment to breath; it was immediately interrupted.</p>
<p>"THE BARN!!" clementine shouts as she runs out.</p>
<p>"¿¡QUÉ HICISTE!?" Sofi screams as she throws her cane in Ghosts general direction, somehow hitting her perfectly.</p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<p>Max was taken out of her usual patrol, she was on full standby with the AHAV investigation team. For the most part they wanted her to do her best to gather more intel, Smoke Bomb and the Actress were to track down hideouts, Mimic was to lure out followers, and Mr. Magma along with Extinguish were on a mission to gain support from other heroes.</p>
<p>Max had been an emotional wreck since she faced off with Ghost, she was angry, and hurt, and all her emotions were conflicted. She needed some sense of closure. During her hero off hours she stood outside the Wayward cafe hesitating to go in. It was getting ready to close, once the last customer left she stepped in.</p>
<p>Before realizing who had walked in Mikki went to greet her, "I'm so sorry but we're about to," her tone shifted to a softer one. She was shocked to see Max. "...close"</p>
<p>"Can I sit down?"</p>
<p>Mikki slowly moved behind the counter, she clenched a knife being careful not to alert Max of this. "Get out."</p>
<p>"I just wanna talk to Ghost." Max slowly sits down at the bar, "that's it, I swear."</p>
<p>"She's not here."</p>
<p>"Do you know where she is?" Max is doing her best to be calm and non threatening but she can see Mikki shaking. "No one knows I'm here, I won't turn her in. I just want some answers, I wanna know if she really is just another villain."</p>
<p>"I don't know where she is."</p>
<p>Max sighs, "I didn't want to have to do this." She reaches out toward Mikki but she reacts too quickly and Mikki slams down the knife through Max's hand pinning it to the counter. "AHHH! WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT FOR?"</p>
<p>"Don't you dare touch me!"</p>
<p>Max holds out her tongue and points to the paper with her shaking left hand. "M- my quirk, lets me say things, I, I was just gonna compel you to tell the truth!"</p>
<p>Mikki tilts her head and reads the paper, 'everyone I touch can't lie.' "Oh," she pulls the knife out of Max's hand.</p>
<p>"I can self heal!" she shouts through her pained tears and the hole heals over. "Jesus that hurt."</p>
<p>"You can't blame me for assuming."</p>
<p>Max laughs nervously, "uh, anyway could I just hold your hand and ask about Ghost again. You know, like a sign of good faith."</p>
<p>"Maybe for you, I don't know you. And even if I had useful information I wouldn't give it."</p>
<p>"If you don't take my hand I'll be forced to call for backup and search the house. Neither of us want that."</p>
<p>Mikki glances at the door to upstairs, she has amazing hearing do to her quirk, she could hear Hikaru behind it. Eavesdropping no doubt. She could hear Aiko crying in his room, Blaine was showing off his weirdly sharp teeth to Clara begging her to make them sharper, she could hear Momo snoring. She could hear all the kids. Being difficult just to be difficult will only hurt her kids in the end. Mikki took Max's hand.</p>
<p>"Where's Ghost?"</p>
<p>"I don't know."</p>
<p>"When was the last time you saw her?"</p>
<p>"We went to pick up Hikaru and Clara from the south side."</p>
<p>"When was this?"</p>
<p>"A few days ago."</p>
<p>"Before or after the incident in Almight Square?"</p>
<p>"Before."</p>
<p>Max let go, "Thank you, if she comes here will you tell her I want to talk?"</p>
<p>"Sure..."</p>
<p>She hands Mikki a number written on the back of an old receipt, "Thank you."</p>
<p>As Max goes to leave, Mikki stops her, "Wait!"</p>
<p>She turns around, "As a sign of your good faith, promise me you won't involve us. You won't tell them about my cafe, you won't endanger my kids, you'll never come back here!"</p>
<p>"We're looking for Ghost, we don't have time to worry about some day care," she says with a smile.</p>
<p>"Promise me!"</p>
<p>"I promise, I won't involve you. I swear." Max walks out of the cafe and makes her way home. a lot is on her mind. She didn't know what she was doing. She bought a burner phone she gave that woman her number, she wasn't gonna report her. If Magma even knew there was a hint of a possibility that Mikki could lure Ghost out he'd use her.</p>
<p>Mikki swings the door open and out fell Hikaru who immediately face planted, she pops up as if nothing happened. "Oh uh, haha, that sure was scary uh, good thing you're so quick on your toes!"</p>
<p>Mikki crosses her arms, "Whatcha doing."</p>
<p>"Well the thing is," and she takes off running up the stairs.</p>
<p>Mikki rolls her eyes watching Hikaru dart away. She continues to lock up and takes a moment to wipe all the blood off the counter. "That chip is gonna bother me from now on." She runs her hand over it one last time then walks up the stairs.</p>
<p>She stops outside Aiko's room, "Can I come in?"</p>
<p>She can hear him sniffle a little and try to wipe his face. "Sure," he yells a little too loudly.</p>
<p>Mikki walks in slowly, "Are you alright?"</p>
<p>"Yeah i'm totally fine..."</p>
<p>"You know it wasn't your fault, right?" She sits on the end of the bed as Aiko pulls his knees to his chest.</p>
<p>The tears start to well up in his eyes again, "If I, if I just had m- more control..."</p>
<p>"Aiko it's okay, quirks can be tricky sometimes," she goes to pull him into a hug.</p>
<p>"DON'T TOUCH ME!" a few of his spikes pop up but aren't big enough to cause damage to anything. "I feel like a monster."</p>
<p>"You're not one!"</p>
<p>"I hurt Momo, I can still hear her scream in my head it wont stop! I know she's okay now but every time I close my eyes I see the look on her face!"</p>
<p>"Aiko she's four, give it a few weeks and i'm sure she'll forget about it."</p>
<p>Aiko rolls over and shoves his face into his pillow, "And what if she doesn't, what if she's scared of me for the rest of her life!"</p>
<p>"Well, if she is, you gotta win her over with your boyish charm and kind face!"</p>
<p>He chuckles a little and turns around, "Did you just say boyish charm?"</p>
<p>"Yes, yes I did. Will you do me a favor and give yourself a break from crying, and drink some water? You're probably really dehydrated."</p>
<p>"Did you buy more chocolate milk?"</p>
<p>"No I didn't, but if you want we can go to the convenient store down the road and get some."</p>
<p>"Can I get a candy bar too?"</p>
<p>"Of course."</p>
<p>As they walk down the hall together, Mikki stops at hikaru's room, "Hey hun?"</p>
<p>"Yeah?"</p>
<p>"Can you go save Clara from Blaine?"</p>
<p>Hikaru opens the door, "what?"</p>
<p>"Blaine is trying to get Clara to make their teeth sharper. Intervene before she gives in."</p>
<p>Hikaru walks into the common room and hits Blaine on the top of their head, not hard but enough to rattle them. "Hey bite kink, she's only been here a few days don't be weird."</p>
<p>"At least I'm not a furry."</p>
<p>Hikaru, very offended, hits them again. "Anyway, hey Clara, I know it's late but have you seen the backyard yet?"</p>
<p>Her eyes light up almost immediately, "There's a backyard?"</p>
<p>Hikaru takes her hand, "Yeah, plus last year we wrapped some fairy lights around the fence so it's fun to sit back there at night!"</p>
<p>As they go to walk down stairs, Hikaru notices Blaine following them, "Whatcha doin there bud?"</p>
<p>"Going outside with you?"</p>
<p>"No the fuck youre not."</p>
<p>"I don't mind if it's the three of us,'' Clara says with a smile. "The more the merrier right?"</p>
<p>"Clara hold that thought," she lets go of her hand and leans in to whisper something in Blaine's ear. "Remember that time i walked into your room and saw you and a-"</p>
<p>"OKAY TIME FOR BED!" Blaine proceeds to nope themself out of the situation.</p>
<p>Hikaru takes Clara's hand again, "Anyway let's go outside!"</p>
<p>"What did you say to them?"</p>
<p>"Dont worry about it."</p>
<p>"Okay it wasn't until you said th-'' she gets yanked down the stairs and out the backdoor.</p>
<p>"Okay okay, the first part is the garden, very nice, we stan fresh veggies." Hikaru flips a switch on the breaker box and all the lights flicker on, "and in the back is the century old play set and some swings!"</p>
<p>"It's a lot bigger than my backyard was"</p>
<p>"Technically it's only this because Mikki's Mom bought the bit of property behind and tore the house down." Hikaru steps onto the swing and Clara sits on the other. "So what do you think?"</p>
<p>"It's nice."</p>
<p>"I mean Wayward, do you think you'll stay? I mean I wouldn't blame you if you wanted to move on or even try to go back home, but you're kinda fun to hang around." Hikaru can't bring herself to make eye contact, "I mean, your quirk is really useful, don't wanna miss out on some trouble we could cause!"</p>
<p>"Oh, yeah I guess my quirk can be fun," a disappointed look spreads across Clara's face.</p>
<p>Hikaru stops swinging and sits down on it, "That's actually a lie. I don't know why I said that. You've only been here a few days but we've had a lot of fun. I want you to stay here. Not forever but long enough that we could maybe get to know each other better?"</p>
<p>"Thats a big turn around from when we first met, you could barely look me in the eyes."</p>
<p>"As if you would have looked at me, you were too busy crying!"</p>
<p>"Fair."</p>
<p>Hikaru stands up and walks out of Clara's line of sight. Clara giggles and stands up, "What are you doing?"</p>
<p>"No don't follow me hold on!"</p>
<p>"Okay okay!" Clara sits back on the swing and after a few seconds Hikaru walks back and stands in front of her.</p>
<p>She extends her hand, "Hi, my name is Hikaru, can I swing with you?"</p>
<p>"What are you doing?"</p>
<p>"Shut up. it's a do over!"</p>
<p>Clara giggles as she shakes Hikaru's hand, "Hi, I'm Clara, I've definitely never killed a man!"</p>
<p>"That's good to know! Me either," she said lying.</p>
<p>"We are totally normal teenage girls hanging out at a park at eleven o'clock at night."</p>
<p>Hikaru starts to swing, "and we have normal lives with nice parents who love us."</p>
<p>"Yeah," Clara's tone shifts to one filled a little with sadness. "That would be fun."</p>
<p>She stops swinging and kicks up some dirt, "Oh I'm sorry, I didn't mean to kill the vibe!"</p>
<p>Clara tries to cover the pain in her voice but Hikaru can see the tears welling in her eyes, "No no it's fine I'm just weird!"</p>
<p>"Clara it's okay to be sad about things, I won't make fun of you."</p>
<p>"It's fine, I just have a complicated history, that's all."</p>
<p>"Heh, yeah I get that, my dad is a mafia don and tried to kill me by setting the house on fire. I got lucky, my sister wasn't though."</p>
<p>"My quirk activated during an argument with my sister and I deleted her legs."</p>
<p>"I killed a man in a mugging gone wrong."</p>
<p>"I killed two men in an alleyway."</p>
<p>"I met a pretty girl in that alleyway.'' It takes a moment for Hikaru to realize she said that outloud. "Uh i mean! My mother never loved me!"</p>
<p>Clara's face turns bright red, "Oh um."</p>
<p>They both sit in silence for a few minutes when Clara looks at her, "You know I've always hated dogs, I'm definitely a cat person!"</p>
<p>Hikaru's face somehow manages to get redder and neither of the girls can seem to look the other in the eye.</p>
<p>"Haha, um, maybe we should start over again?"</p>
<p>Without looking at Clara, Hikaru holds out her hand, her tail swaying ever so slightly. Clara takes it and they just sit there, red faced in silence. Until they hear a window on the second floor open. </p>
<p>"Hey can yall stop being so gay, I can feel the teen akward from here!" Blaine shouts before closing the window.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>"BLAINE I'M GONNA KICK YOUR ASS!" Hikaru goes to run inside but Clara doesn't let go of her hand and almost makes her fall backwards.</p>
<p>Clara stands up, "You shouldn't let them get under your skin."</p>
<p>"But,"</p>
<p>Clara blushes before she can even get her words out, "I mean i'm here, it's not like you're alone anymore."</p>
<p>"Does that mean you're gonna stay?"</p>
<p>"Yeah, it does."</p>
<p>Hikaru lets out an excited laugh and scoops Clara up in a hug and spins her around. "We're gonna have so much fun!" She slowly sets her down and they're both suddenly very aware of how close they are. "Uh, I'm sorry, I get a little grabby when I'm excited."</p>
<p>"That's fine."</p>
<p>"You know I know this fun little bookstore a few blocks away, maybe we should go tomorrow?"</p>
<p>"That sounds like fun."</p>
<p>"I should probably put you down now."</p>
<p>"If you want."</p>
<p>Hikaru waits for Clara to pull away but she doesn't, "you know it's getting kinda chilly, maybe we should go back inside?"</p>
<p>"Probably." But they don't, they continue to stand together embraced for a few more minutes before Clara quickly kisses her on the cheek and runs inside, "I should probably head to bed!"</p>
<p>And before hikaru could even process what happened, Clara was already gone, she simply sits down and lays in the dirt looking up at the stars. "Heh, she kissed me..."</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0009"><h2>9. The Untold Story</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Mr. Magma sits waiting in a large chair in front of an empty desk, Neil his sidekick stands behind him by the door. The room is almost completely quiet except for the ticking of the clock. They are both in fresh pressed suits, Mr. Magma's was slowly getting covered in scorch marks as his patience began to wear thin.</p>
<p>After a little while the door opens slightly, Principal Nezu walks in and sits at the desk. "I'm sorry to keep you boys waiting, so, how can I help you?"</p>
<p>"Nezu, I'm sure you've been made aware of the radical group AHAV?"</p>
<p>"I have yes, since their arrival UA has become quite the scandal."</p>
<p>"Then you should understand the great importance of taking them down?"</p>
<p>"I have an itching feeling you're about to ask me for something."</p>
<p>"How much do you know about their leader?" Neil hands Mr. Magma a file, "there have been a lot of rumors but i think you should read this." </p>
<p>Nezu takes the file and opens it, "Quite the character they are."</p>
<p>"Over the years us heroes have faced many terrifying villains, even some with mind control powers but this? This isn't mind control."</p>
<p>"What makes you think it isn't?" Nezu asks flipping through the pages.</p>
<p>"What the news didn't release that day, was the fact that a storm was beginning to appear. Big storm clouds swirled over Almight Square and then vanished as if nothing happened. That's not mind control, that's just control."</p>
<p>"Have you ruled out multiple parties? This Ghost writer could simply have an illusion quirk, paired with partners with a wide variety of quirks you could make anything happen."</p>
<p>"One of our task force members has some first experience with their quirk, lucky we found a lovely way around our little problem. With the right tools she'll be completely immune to Ghosts control, but making her fight alone is unreasonable. We need Aizawa."</p>
<p>"Hm, if she really does have the level of control you think she has, what's stopping her from muting everyone's quirks?"</p>
<p>"From what we've seen she's never once canceled out someone's quirk just their movements or will to fight. Everyone has limits Nezu, we think quirk cancelation is one of them."</p>
<p>"Magma, with all due respect you have a lot of unanswered questions. Regardless of what her quirk is capable of, she's already taken down twenty heroes. We know they also despise UA, what makes you think I'll put my top teacher in the middle of all that."</p>
<p>Mr. Magma leans back into his chair and crosses his leg, "that's fine, I understand. However before I go, why don't you tell me about the Overhaul situation?"</p>
<p>Nezu narrows his eyes, "I'm sure you were given some briefing on that matter."</p>
<p>"You know I was, so were the AHAV followers apparently. However neither party has really publicly pushed it into the light."</p>
<p>"How generous of them."</p>
<p>"You know principle nezu, i've never been good at keeping secrets. I wonder how all the parents would feel about what happened."</p>
<p>Nezu was a very smart creature, he knew this wouldn't end well in the slightest. "You can't keep him for more than three months, people will get suspicious."</p>
<p>Magma stood up with a smile on his face and leans down to shake his hand, "Have him report to HIA tomorrow morning," he pulls a white envelope from his suit pocket and hands it to him.</p>
<p>"Whats this?"</p>
<p>"An invitation, though even in a mask I'm sure everyone will know who you are."</p>
<p>Nezu looks up from the paper, "You're playing a very dangerous game Magma."</p>
<p>He adjusts his tie, "we're fighting a very dangerous woman."</p>
<p>"I never play games i can't win Magma, and let me say the odds aren't in your favor," Nezu stands up and walks to the door. He hands Magma back the invitation, "Thank you for visiting and may you survive this turn."</p>
<p>"Oh Nezu, I'm not playing. I'm the dealer." Magma walks out followed shortly by Neil, "I think that went well."</p>
<p>"Where to now, sir?"</p>
<p>"Let's pay the warden of tartarus a visit."</p>
<p>"The prison?"</p>
<p>"No neil, hell, OF COURSE THE PRISON!"</p>
<p>At the sudden raise of magmas voice causes Neil to flinch, "Im sorry sir that was a dumb question."</p>
<p>As they exit out of the school Magma lights a cigarette, "Go pull the car around, i'll call ahead and get security clearance."</p>
<p>"Sir if I may, what do we hope to gain from going there?"</p>
<p>He takes a long drag and exhales a cloud of smoke, some from the cigarette the rest because he's a walking volcano. "Ever hear about the villain liar?"</p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<p>Ghost stands up to wipe the sweat off her face, the past few days her and Clementine have been rebuilding the barn. They're just finishing up the roof.</p>
<p>"Come on dani we ain't got much more to do!" she said, lying.</p>
<p>Parker was around back, she was trying to fix Clementine's old tractor sense Sapphire kinda melted the new one. She was covered in rust, dust, and oil.</p>
<p>Cheyenne was in the kitchen helping Momma Sofi cook, Sapphire hasn't surfaced since their fight with Ghost. Which wasn't unusual but normally after a day she pops back in but she just wasn't. Cheyenne didn't mind though, she liked fronting. Especially when Sapphire was upset. Cheyenne always took it upon herself to take care of her ever since her mom died.</p>
<p>Sofi pushes the window shutters open and leans out, "Lunch is ready!" she shouts, Ghost immediately perks up. Cheyenne starts to bring a big tray of sandwiches and chips onto the front porch and sits down. One by one everyone gathers.</p>
<p>"So how long are y'all gonna stay here?"</p>
<p>Parker, placing two sandwiches on her plate says, "Once the manhunt dies down a little we'll find a way back into the city. However with Cheyenne fronting it will be easier with her mind wipe."</p>
<p>"I'll do my best to stay until we make it back."</p>
<p>Ghost picks up their voice box and starts typing. "Do you think it's safe enough to go to Mikki's?"</p>
<p>"I think it's our only option, I'm too out of range to connect to my drones so there's no way I could scout."</p>
<p>Clementine raises an eyebrow, "Don't you have followers you could contact?"</p>
<p>"I believe it would be too risky, we don't know who's active or compromised plus it could track back to us and involve you," Cheyenne reaches for her drink, "we appreciate your help but it's best if you just stay the nice old ladies in the countryside."</p>
<p>Ghost nods in agreement as she rubs an ice cube from her water on her neck.</p>
<p>Clementine puts on a big smile, "So how's everyone's day going so far?"</p>
<p>"Could be better, that old tractor is really giving me a hard time."</p>
<p>"I don't doubt it, that old thing has been running low on the will to live for a long time."</p>
<p>"I can relate to that," Cheyenne says before taking a bite from her sandwich.</p>
<p>Ghost can't seem to make eye contact as Sofi sighs, "Are you two still fighting?"</p>
<p>"I'm not fighting with anyone, however Sapphire would be here if Ghost hadn't said-" she takes a deep breath, "If Dani didn't say what she said."</p>
<p>"I'm sorry," Ghost types on her voice box.</p>
<p>"I'm not the one you need to apologize to."</p>
<p>"Then let me speak to her."</p>
<p>"You know I can't control it. It just happens sometimes." Tears start to well in her eyes, "I'm sorry."</p>
<p>Momma Sofi takes off her sandel and uses it to smack Ghost, "stop making the poor girl cry."</p>
<p>"Sofi, she already has a broken nose, let the girls' faces rest." </p>
<p>Parker does her best to hold back a laugh, "It's her fault though, i've known them for almost two years. Dani has trouble controlling her mouth, ironic for someone who's technically mute."</p>
<p>Sofi walks Cheyenne back into the house while the others stay behind. "Do you wanna talk about it?"</p>
<p>Cheyenne wipes her face, "Yeah kinda."</p>
<p>They sit on the sofa, "Go on ahead then baby."</p>
<p>"It's just, we all grew up together. She has no idea what happened after the immortal incident, what I went through."</p>
<p>"Tell me what happened"</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Seventeen year old Sapphire sat in the living room of her home, she was lazily flipping through channels when her stepmom busted through the front door and locks it, she was still in her hero costume.</p>
<p>"Good you're home I need you to get into the basement!"</p>
<p>"What why?" at that moment you could hear an explosion off in the distance even though it was far away it still shook the house.</p>
<p>"There's a villain attack happening not too far from her. I ran home as fast as I could. I can't stay with you but i need to make sure you're safe."</p>
<p>"Christ okay!"</p>
<p>"Quickly grab a few things you may need and head down there!" another explosion went off, through Zarya's earpiece Sapphire could hear a man yelling "Sadness! Where are you! We need medical support!"</p>
<p>Sapphire quickly grabbed a radio, her tablet and a couch cushion to sit on and ran into the basement.</p>
<p>"Promise me you'll stay down here even if the explosions stop! You won't come out till either me or Jack comes to get you!"</p>
<p>"I promise."</p>
<p>Zarya shut the door and ran out the house. She pushed the button on her earpiece, "I'm headed your way!"</p>
<p>Sapphire sat in the corner of the basement she could hear explosion after explosion, she could hear the house shake as if it was an earthquake. She tried to distract herself by watching videos but the sudden lack of wifi really halted that. After about an hour the basement light cut off, the sound of the generator startled her. "It sounds really bad out there, I hope Zarya's okay."</p>
<p>Sapphire turned on the radio and turned it to channel 1.32. There was a radio station there that commented on villain attacks. The man had a quirk that could let him pick a place anywhere in the world and spectate it like some video game.</p>
<p>"I'm telling you folks it's bad, several buildings are dropping like jenga towers and heroes like flies. We don't know who this man is but i've never seen anything like it before even Almight is struggling to hold his own! Looks like some other big shots are entering the fight, the other heroes are focused on civilian evacuation and rescue!"</p>
<p>"Man that sounds scary."</p>
<p>"It looks like Endeavor has entered the fight! Thank god all these top heroes were in the area! My god...." there was a long pause, "It looks like Endeavor is choosing to go supernova with all this destruction. They are looking to end this fight, I don't think they care if the villain is gonna be able to walk away after this!"</p>
<p>All the sound cut out Sapphire picked it up thinking the batteries were dead when the radio host begins to shout, "You won't believe this folks!" He was completely obliterated yet, he just came back! There wasn't even an ounce of ash and he slowly built back up as if built from the atom up! The heroes are stunned! They don't know what to do! It looks like Almight is welling up an attack. He couldn't be... it looks like Almight is about to use his strongest move as well, 'the United States of Smash!"</p>
<p>"Why do his attacks have the dumbest names?"</p>
<p>"My god he sent the villain flying. He punched a whole through several buildings! They Are collapsing! Those look like apartments too, I hope everyone got out in time! I'm now getting word that was in fact the Sunrise Apartment complex!"</p>
<p>Sapphire's heart sank as those words entered her ears, that's where Dani lived. They used to live down the street but after her dad left her mom moved them there. It was as the world fell silent for a minute, she no longer heard or felt the explosions, she didn't hear the radio host yelling into his microphone, everything was quiet. She sat there with her mind running a mile a minute filling it with every negative thought that she could think of. She got up and ran up the stairs, to her surprise Zarya had locked the basement door. After several attempts to break out she gives up and sits back down. With everything on her mind she can't help but cry thinking about her friend.</p>
<p>By sunset Sapphire jolts up at the sound of the basement door unlocking, it was Zarya. Sapphire immediately dashes past her and out the front door, she ignores her stepmother's calls.</p>
<p>'Okay if I run at full pace, and take short cuts it will only take me ten minutes to get there!' she thinks to herself.</p>
<p>The destruction around her is intense, and it feels hotter than it should be this time of year, probably because of Endevor's supernova. The closer she got the more wreckage there was around her. It just got worse and worse. She runs past b-list heroes trying to rescue people. There are ambulances everywhere and more covered bodies than she cared to notice.</p>
<p>When she got to the apartment complex she tried to climb on the rubble, she knew Dani couldn't be far under cause she lived close to the top. None of the heroes noticed her till she slipped and yelled out in pain.</p>
<p>"Kid what the hell are you doing?" the hero shouted as he ran over to her, "You can't be here right now this place is very unstable!"</p>
<p>"I have to save dani!" she gave up on trying to climb and just started pulling on any concrete she could move.</p>
<p>One of the heroes grabbed her and pulled her away, Sapphire could start to hear Zarya yelling from a distance but she ignored and broke free from the hero's grip. She just kept screaming dani's name.</p>
<p>The hero grabbed her again but was a little more violent this time, he threw her to the ground and his partner pinned her down. "Are you listening? You need to evacuate!"</p>
<p>Sapphire fueled by anger and tears fights back harder screaming for the hero to let her go. "Just knock her out!" one shouted.</p>
<p>The hero takes their weapon and smashes her across the head with its hilt but she continues to fight back headbutting the hero. She can feel his blood drip into her hair.</p>
<p>Zarya catches up and is held back by another hero.</p>
<p>"You little shit!" the hero pinning her lets up on his grip only to smash her harder into the ground, the smaller bits of rock and glass on the ground cut into her face.</p>
<p>"DON'T HURT HER SHE'S JUST A CHILD!" Zarya screams as she watches the heroes hit her over and over and over again till she finally stops moving.</p>
<p>cheyenne takes her hands off Sofia's face, her quirk could take away memories, but she could also show them to other people. Tears were just streaming down her face, "I'm sorry, was that too much?"</p>
<p>Sofi clenches cheyenne's hands, "No no, how could anyone do that to a child."</p>
<p>"We had just turned seventeen."</p>
<p>"In my mind you're a child till you turn twenty!"</p>
<p>"Hehh, after that I woke up in a jail cell, my father pulled some strings then at home proceeded to beat me within an inch of my life for dishonoring our household. I left that part out because I didn't think you'd want to see that."</p>
<p>"You poor baby."</p>
<p>"Why did you never tell us this happened?" They both turn to see Ghost standing in the doorway with tears in her eyes.</p>
<p>"Oh no, I must have projected a bit further than intended."</p>
<p>Parker walks in wiping her face with her shirt sleeve and smearing more oil on her face, "I can track down those mother fuckers if you want, we'll make them pay!"</p>
<p>Clementine walks forward and places her hand on Cheyenne's cheek, "I've decided you're one of our babies now. No exceptions, I've just adopted you," she turns to look at Parker, "You too, you're very handy."</p>
<p>Ghost kneels down in front of her, she types out on her voice box, "I'm so sorry, I'm sorry I left, I'm sorry I didn't know, I'm sorry I said all those things!"</p>
<p>"It's okay, I forgive you." Though she decided to say those words she knew deep down, even if Sapphire would eventually forgive her, she wouldn't. Cheyenne, for as long as she lived, would hate Ghost for hurting Sapphire. There would be nothing she could do or say that would get her to forgive them. But she was too polite to say this. She simply smiled and patted Ghost's head.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0010"><h2>10. Back to the City</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Clementine is doing her best to stay calm and drive how she normally would, Parker is squished down on the floor on the passenger side, "I don't think this is a good idea."</p>
<p>"I'm sorry for involving you but you're the only one who can drive right now."</p>
<p>They Are driving on the highway headed toward the city, they're checking to see if one, it's still closed off for the manhunt, and two if they can get close enough for Parker to connect to her drones. Clementine has passed a few cop cars but none have flagged them as suspicious. There seems to be more than usual but they aren't stopping traffic to check the cars.</p>
<p>Parker leans up to peak out the window, "Take the next exit and head toward the south side."</p>
<p>After driving a bit more, Parker finally connects to her drones she closes her eyes, "Okay I'm connecting, where are all my babies.'' The first thing she sees is a man in a lab coat, he's messing with the drone, she can see other drones absolutely demolished. They took them all apart. As the drone clicks on it startles the worker. "SHIT HOW DID THEY FIND MY DRONES?"</p>
<p>"It turned on, turn on the tracker," he shouts, scrambling outside of its view."</p>
<p>Parker tries to get the drone to fly off however it's clearly tethered to something so she simply has it fly up and down smashing itself on whatever surface its sitting on when she disconnects she tells clementine to floor it.</p>
<p>"What happened?"</p>
<p>"I don't know, they had my drones. I think they, " Parker decided she doesn't care anymore and hops out of the floor and sits in the passenger seat, she puts her hood up at least. "I need to get to a computer fast!"</p>
<p>"Do you have any friends in the city?"</p>
<p>"None I'm willing to endanger, turn here, I know where we can go."</p>
<p>They pull into the parking lot of an internet cafe, "what are we gonna do here?"</p>
<p>"Something stupid. Stay in the car.'' Parker walks in, for the most part it looks like a normal cafe. There are lots of people with their personal computers typing away and drinking coffee. She notices someone standing up to go to the bathroom. She starts to put her computer away. "I could watch that for you. Something you touch a lot should not be in a public bathroom!"</p>
<p>"Oh you don't mind?"</p>
<p>"Not at all, us ladies gotta stick together!"</p>
<p>"Thank you so much!"</p>
<p>The second she's in the bathroom, Parker takes her computer and walks out the cafe, and gets back into the car. "Okay you can leave."</p>
<p>"Don't you need wifi?"</p>
<p>"My implant has an encrypted hotspot, I'm fine." Parker clicks a button on side of her implant that sticks out of her temple and it opens, she pulls out a thin cord and plugs it into the computer."</p>
<p>"What are you doing?"</p>
<p>"I heard the word tracker, I don't know if they had enough time but they were clearly connected to the drone and were waiting for me to connect. Once it turned on they would have had a minute to send a tracker to my mainframe."</p>
<p>"You have a mainframe?"</p>
<p>"Sorta, my implant is like a second brain attached to mine. I can deal with a tracker but it might be a distraction, if they sent a virus I could shut down."</p>
<p>"Shut down? Like knocked out or like dead?"</p>
<p>"This thing in my head travels down my neck and is attached to my brainstem, and all of my nerves. I have a bit of a complicated past, i got hurt during the immortal incident, but thanks to this," she points to the device, "I can walk now, if it busts in the right way, i'll live, but i'll be immoble"</p>
<p>"And if it busts the wrong way?"</p>
<p>"We don't wanna think about that." during the drive back to the farm. Parker runs a deep diagnostic of her implant checking every nook and cranny of its code. Luckily she doesn't find anything but proceeds to do it over and over again until they reach the farm at sunset.</p>
<p>Cheyenna greets them, "so how did the scouting go."</p>
<p>"We didn't get much scouting done, the city isn't closed off anymore but i don't know where we can hide out.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Ghost signs "what happened?"  because she was too lazy to type it out on her voice box.</p>
<p>"They had my drones. They almost put a tracker on me but I can say for sure that I destroyed the drone before they could. Note to self make the next gen be able to self destruct."</p>
<p>Safi walks in and hands them both a plate of dinner wrapped in plastic, "I heard on the news they are keeping a heavy watch on large abandoned buildings and warehouses in the hopes to catch you all."</p>
<p>They all sit down on the table, "Okay so we can take the same truck we left in cause no one noticed us so we have transportation, we could just break into an empty house? Wait no, that wouldn't work, too suspicious when we leave and we couldn't account for if it suddenly got sold or if there was an open house."</p>
<p>"I mean we could steal a van?"</p>
<p>"Cheyenne, do you really wanna spend the next who knows how long living in a van with both me and Ghost? In winter? You're not like Sapp, she doesn't get cold like you do."</p>
<p>Clementine, shoving a very large bite of steak into her mouth, "that reminds me, Dani why do they call you Ghost?"</p>
<p>Ghost finally picks up her voice box, "keeps my identity a secret, and I just never told Parker my real name."</p>
<p>"Dont lie, it's because you think it sounds edgy isn't it?"</p>
<p>Ghost, offended types very fast, "Okay first of all no, it's just my villain name, everyone has to make a name for themselves. I'm the Ghost writer!"</p>
<p>Cheyenne and Parker hold back their laughter.</p>
<p>"Ghost writer? For who," Sofi asks.</p>
<p>"God!"</p>
<p>Sofi immediately hits Ghost on the back of her head, "Dani I love you but god would not approve of your actions. I understand you think you're doing what's best but you are going about it the wrong way." Ghost rubs the back of her head, "Dani, I will not claim to know what it is you are doing and I won't say it's right or wrong but don't claim its gods will."</p>
<p>"It's true though! If God had not spoken to me on that day i'd be dead!"</p>
<p>"Have you heard god's voice sense?"</p>
<p>Ghost takes a moment to think before typing out "Well no, but!" </p>
<p>"I've heard all I need to know. We won't discuss it again."</p>
<p>"Uh, anyway, what now," Cheyenne asks.</p>
<p>There was a long pause before Ghost types out, "We could go to Wayward?"</p>
<p>Parker shakes her head, "We can't risk the kids, they find us, Mikki loses everyone."</p>
<p>"We'll be careful, very careful."</p>
<p>Cheyenne looks up, "it may be our only option."</p>
<p>"I don't like this, not one bit. Just one witness and it's over"</p>
<p>Clementine sets down her glass. "From what i've seen on the news they barely know what you look like, blurry photos and police sketches aren't gonna be enough for people to realize. Plus I could cut yalls hair?" </p>
<p>Parker holds up her hand, "i would rather die.....i could just dye it actually."</p>
<p>Cheyenne stands up and starts backing up slowly, "That sounds like fun i've always wanted like an afro mohawk, you may have to hold me down though."</p>
<p>"Why?"</p>
<p>"Sapphire has an irrational fear of clippers."</p>
<p>Ghost stands up and rolls up her sleeves.</p>
<p>"Thank you and I apologize in advance,"</p>
<p>Cheyenne takes off running and Ghost runs after her. Clementine picks up her keys, "I guess i'll go pick up some hair dye, what colors?"</p>
<p>"Ghost will probably just touch up their color so black for them, um, my hair is pale so it will be easy to dye, get me like a deep blue? You know where it looks black but in the light blue? If that makes sense?"</p>
<p>"Okay I got it."</p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<p>Parker stands in the bathroom dying her hair as Ghost rinses hers, cheyenne is tied to a chair as Clementine shaves her sides. Though she does look happy her body is fighting it, "Stop wiggling. I'm almost done!"</p>
<p>"Im trying!"</p>
<p>Ghost shakes the water out of her hair and turns on the blow dryer, she signs at Parker "does it look okay?"  Clementine had buzzed off most of her hair into a crew cut.</p>
<p>"Its weird seeing you without your hair slicked back, your hair was short when we met but like this is weird." She floofs Ghost's hair, "I'm glad you dyed your sides though, I was tired of looking at the ginger!"</p>
<p>"Honestly same"</p>
<p>Parker closes the toilet lid and sits on it so Ghost can help dye the rest of her hair. "How ya doin cheyenne," she yells down the hallway.</p>
<p>"Great!" she yells through clenched teeth, the second the buzzing of the clippers stops her body relaxes.</p>
<p>"I think it looks great, however it's a tad big. Are you sure you don't want me to trim your afro a bit?"</p>
<p>"Nah, this way whenever Sapphire is fronting she can just like, push it down covering it as if this never happened."</p>
<p>"Fair enough," she says while untying her.</p>
<p>She jumps up and stretches her muscles before walking into the bathroom to look in the mirror. "Thoughts?"</p>
<p>Ghost smiles and gives a thumbs up.</p>
<p>"It looks so good!"</p>
<p>"Thanks! Sapphires' gonna have a cow for sure!"</p>
<p>"Okay so faze one, practically complete, faze two is getting into the city. It's best if we leave around sunrise, most police checkpoints happen at night so better safe than sorry. And even though we are changing our appearance we still need to be careful."</p>
<p>"What about Ghosts tattoos?"</p>
<p>"I don't think even our followers have seen them, right?"</p>
<p>Ghost stays silent.</p>
<p>"Right?" Parker asks again in a harsher tone.</p>
<p>Ghost sighs, "I may have slept with a follower once, but that's irrelevant, Max probably told them about my tattoos."</p>
<p>Parker turns to look at Ghost, "You slept with a follower?"</p>
<p>"Remember Annabel? It happened after she broke up with me and was just trying to get over her."</p>
<p>"ooooooh."</p>
<p>"she was really nice, you were a complete mess after she left. Do you still have the ring?"</p>
<p>Ghost shakes her head no as she rubs the dye into Parker's roots.</p>
<p>"Didn't she betray us," Cheyenne asks sitting on the sink counter.</p>
<p>"Doesn't mean she wasn't nice. And I mean yeah she tipped off the heroes but she didn't drop names or even tell them our plans. Really the nicest way to betray someone I guess. Plus without her my implant would still be buggy"</p>
<p>"Can we not talk about this right now? I'm already sad as it is."</p>
<p>"sorry."</p>
<p>"My bad." After a short pause Cheyenne looks up, "when was the last time anyone saw Lieutenant?"</p>
<p>"Honestly I have no idea, she pops in when she's hungry, she's having too much fun here."</p>
<p>"I saw her earlier fucking with the sheep."</p>
<p>"I know i've never been too good with sign language, i've been getting better the past week however. Did you just sign that you saw Lieutenant fucking a sheep?"</p>
<p>"With! Fucking with, a sheep."</p>
<p>Cheyenne snorts with laughter, "Oh okay yeah that makes more sense."</p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<p>Mikki unwraps the bandage around Momo's hand, "You're almost fully healed! I'm gonna leave it unwrapped for a little while, don't pick the scab okay?"</p>
<p>"Okay!"</p>
<p>Mikki's ear twitches as she hears the backdoor open and narrows her eyes. She stomps out of the kitchen and opens the door. As she stands at the top of the stairs she sees Ghost, carrying everyone's bags, Parker, and Cheyenne in the doorway. "No!"</p>
<p>"Mikki let us-" </p>
<p>She cuts parker off as she stomps down the stairs, "Why are you back in the city? It's been what two weeks? They're still looking for you. Do you have any idea how many followers are in jail?" When she reaches the bottom of the stairs she takes one of the suitcases from Ghost and angrily walks back up. "You better go through your crap while you're hiding here, I want my storage closet back!"</p>
<p>"Does that mean we can stay?" Cheyenne asks.</p>
<p>"Of course you can stay! Why wouldn't you be allowed to stay?"</p>
<p>She swallows, "No reason."</p>
<p>When everyone gets upstairs Hikaru pokes her head out of her room, "Why is there so much yelling," she rubs her eyes, "Aunty Parker!" she screams before full force jumping into her arms.</p>
<p>Parker effortly scoops her up, "Hey there kid, did you get taller?"</p>
<p>"I hope so!"</p>
<p>Parker sets her down, "Hey, I'll make you a deal, you round up all the youngins, keep them in their rooms for a while and I'll let you go through my old tech I have hiding in the storage closet." </p>
<p>Hikaru sighs, "You're going to discuss missions aren't you?"</p>
<p>"I promise you can join when you're eighteen, now scram."</p>
<p>Hikaru picks up Momo off the kitchen counter and leaves, "Fine but if I find something cool i get to keep it."</p>
<p>"Fair enough."</p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<p>Back on the farm Clementine hands Sofi her morning coffee, her eyes flash and she looks up. "Someones coming up the driveway."</p>
<p>"Friendly?"</p>
<p>"I don't know."</p>
<p>Clementine picks up her shotgun and walks out the front door. The car stops slowly, the dust from the dirt road settles on its freshly washed exterior. A tall scruffy man with short red hair steps out of the car. She pump her gun and points it at him. "Can I help you sir?"</p>
<p>"Woah, WOAH!" he shouts ducking behind the car door. He sticks his hands up, "M- my name's David, David Butterfly."</p>
<p>She lowers her gun slightly, "Butterfly...?" she whispers as her eyes widen.</p>
<p>"I'm looking for hen-" he coughs, "I mean Dani. It took some digging and a while trying to prove my identity. But uh, I finally found out this was her foster home."</p>
<p>"Holy shit."</p>
<p>Sofi snatches the gun from Clementine and wobbles her way off the porch, "I may be blind but my quirk gives me great aim!"</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0011"><h2>11. Faze Two?</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Mikki walks around the common room closing all the curtains, everyone sits at the dinner table. After a few moments of silence Parker leans forward. "Okay, here's what we know. Ahav is compromised, the fact that they had and dismantled all of my drones means the followers were unable to scrub the base in time."</p>
<p>"My god, what kinda stuff could they have had access to?"</p>
<p>"Well for the most our target list, all our possible safe houses, except wayward of course, and possible rally locations."</p>
<p>Cheyenne raises her hand a little, "That is all speculation of course our followers could have burned all our paper trails but didn't have time to move the drones."</p>
<p>"Could they have hacked the drones?"</p>
<p>"Yes and no, for the most part they don't harbor any relevant data unless i'm connected. When I was able to connect they tried to attach a tracker but they were unsuccessful. I ran a diagnostic."</p>
<p>"So what now? Is it over? Did we lose?"</p>
<p>Ghost sits forward and signs, "No, we didn't lose, we're accelerating to faze two."</p>
<p>"Faze two?"</p>
<p>"We were afraid something like this would happen so the only people who know about faze two are me, Ghost, Sapphire, and Cheyenne."</p>
<p>"What's faze two?"</p>
<p>Cheyenne looks away as Ghost signs the words "exposure, and radicalization."</p>
<p>"What does that mean?"</p>
<p>"We're going public, like public public. We're gonna mass release the intel I've been collecting. Everything, death tolls, cover ups, settlements, the immortal incident, Overhaul," she gestures at Cheyenne, "Sapphire."</p>
<p>Cheyenne's hand starts shaking, Mikki puts her hand on her shoulder. "Are you okay?"</p>
<p>"Sapp just gets a little on edge when she thinks about getting her revenge."</p>
<p>"Before we do anything I need one of my drones, it will be easier to connect to networks. We're talking like hacking all the billboards in the city center. I'm not climbing up there to hack them so, drones."</p>
<p>"I thought they were all destroyed?"</p>
<p>Parker stands up and walks to the closet near the back of the common room, "lucky i'm a hoarder." She opens the door to reveal more boxes than anyone would care to admit. It's a mix of Ghost and Parker's stuff along with unused AHAV flyers when they first started the movement.</p>
<p>"Finally I can have my closet back."</p>
<p>"Hikaru we're done, come help me!" she shouts down the hall.</p>
<p>I think I'm gonna lay down for a little while, Mikki, are there any spare rooms right now?" cheyenne rubs the bridge of her nose.</p>
<p>"Uh yeah a few, most of the other kids went home because Christmas is getting close."</p>
<p>"Shit already? Good for us I guess, i'll just pick a random bed."</p>
<p>As Cheyenne leaves, Mikki looks at Ghost nervously, "Hey, can I talk to you for a minute? Privately?"</p>
<p>She nods and follows Mikki down into the cafe.</p>
<p>"I didn't wanna mention this in front of the others but Max was here a few weeks ago."</p>
<p>Ghost for a moment forgets she can't speak and grabs Mikki as if she's asking her if she was hurt. </p>
<p>"Im fine, I'm fine, she promised not to involve us under the condition she could like, truth spell me or something." Ghost sighs in relief, "She did give me this." Mikki reaches under the counter and grabs an old receipt, "She wants to contact you, she said she has no interest in turning you in, she just wants to talk."</p>
<p>"As much as i'd like to, I won't endanger anyone however this is concerning."</p>
<p>"Yeah."</p>
<p>"Because you gave her that note and told her your name could get her to me. You really put a target on your back."</p>
<p>Tears fill mikki's eyes, "I know, i, I put all the kids in danger. What if they get taken away? I don't know what I'd do!" Ghost pulls her into a hug. "What if she lies and turns us in?"</p>
<p>She pulls away, "I don't want to involve the kids but, I need to make sure they can protect themselves. If something happens and we're not here. I don't know what would happen."</p>
<p>Mikki sniffles, "What are you gonna do?"</p>
<p>"Who's here that can't go home?"</p>
<p>"Um, Aiko, Hikaru, Momo, Clara, Axel, and Blaine."</p>
<p>"Everyone else send home, I don't care how much they protest. A month at home will be better than anything that could happen here."</p>
<p>"Okay, I'll send who's left home after dinner."</p>
<p>The two walk back upstairs as hikaru pulls out a large piece of fabric that's stripped yellow and black. "What on earth is this?" as Hikaru opens it up and realizes it appears to be a bee costume.</p>
<p>Parker quickly swipes it from her hands, "Forgot I had this," she throws it at Ghost and the costume wraps around her face. "Burn that."</p>
<p>'Why is it always my face,' she thinks to herself.</p>
<p>Aiko, pulling out random tidbits of electronics, "Why do you have a bee costume?"</p>
<p>Parker sighs, "Fun fact, I used to be a pro hero."</p>
<p>Blaine was asleep on the sofa but the second the words pro hero entered the air they jolted up, "Where?!" they shout.</p>
<p>"You were a pro hero?!" Hikaru instantly drops her attention off the box. She swings her arms out in shock and accidentally smacks Clara in the face who was sitting on the floor next to her. "Oh shit, my bad." She looks back to Parker, "A PRO HERO?!"</p>
<p>Aiko grabs the costume from Ghost, "I'm more interested in the fact you walked around as a bee." </p>
<p>Blaine starts laughing, "Hey aiko, aiko, is it culturally insensitive to make a jazz joke?"</p>
<p>"Dead meme dude."</p>
<p>Clara gets up and moves to sit just a little away from Hikaru, "What was your hero name?"</p>
<p>"The swarm."</p>
<p>"You're telling me you walked around as a bee and didn't call yourself ZZhive mind?"</p>
<p>"Am I the only one concerned by the fact Parker was a hero?!"</p>
<p>Parker sighs, "Okay first of all hive mind is a stupid name, second i wasnt technically a hero, i was basically an intern just doing work studies."</p>
<p>Clara picks up what looks like a giant bee robot and hands it to Parker, "What happened?"</p>
<p>"The immortal incident."</p>
<p>Everyone in the room stiffens, the immortal incident was only about 4 almost 5 years ago but it was still very fresh in everyone's mind. It was a tragedy that affected everyone personally in one way or another.</p>
<p>"I was a UA student at the time well on my way to be a top pro hero with promise, I was on my internship when it happened. A lot of villains took the incident as an opportunity to move forward on plans while the stronger heroes were distracted. Someone took out my little drones," she holds up the large fake bee. "I am a strong fighter but I ended up facing a stronger one, he didn't care I was just a kid."</p>
<p>The silence in the room almost echoes as everyone stares at her. It's as if the memories are flashing in her eyes.</p>
<p>My spine was practically shattered. My father was happy i finally had to give up my stupid dream. So were the other heroes, the feared change and intelligence, they saw me as a liability and being paralized from the waist down was just what they wanted. Luckily, with the help of a whack job back alley doctor and my tech we developed a new spinal cord. it was very glitchy but i met a young woman who helped me fix it. With her help and some modifications we were able to attach it to my brain stem.''</p>
<p>Parker pulls her hair over her shoulder to show them, all the kids gather to look at it, "I'm not gonna lie that's kinda gross," Blaine says before Hikaru smacks him on the back of the head.</p>
<p>"That thing enhances my quirk," she digs through one of the boxes and pulls out an old headset. "It's like this, a neuro device, I used to have to wear it to connect to my drones, now it's just inside me. Quickly I realized I could connect to a lot more than just drones. I connected to a lot of the data kept in my dad's company's mainframe. The horror I saw was uncanny. The back door dealings, funding cover ups, and so much worse. I had to go into hiding for a bit. i fully commited to the movement and offered my services to Ghost."</p>
<p>"You call holding me at gunpoint offering your services?"</p>
<p>"That's not what happened!"</p>
<p>"You followed me for days then kidnapped me, told me I was wasting the potential of ahav and demanded I let you join our ranks. There weren't even ranks!"</p>
<p>"Okay I went about it the wrong way, I just needed protection and AHAV offered that. I laid low in Wayward for a while, used my amazing skills to track down Sapphire and now here we are. Exactly where we started, minus Sapphire for the moment, thanks for that Ghost."</p>
<p>Mikki looks at Ghost, "what did you do?" Ghost doesn't answer and simply sits on the sofa.</p>
<p>"And now i have to do my best job to fix up this little guy and get our mission back on track."</p>
<p>"And hikaru finally gets her wish" Ghost signs. </p>
<p>"What?"</p>
<p>"For the next few days I'm gonna be putting you kids through some quirk training, I'm gonna take you a little ways outside the city by the train tracks."</p>
<p>"What the fuck are you talking about Ghost," Parker shouts as all the kids, excluding blaine, get excited.</p>
<p>"Max knows about Wayward, Max knows Wayward is close to me, if she reports that and we're not here... I just wanna know they can hold their own long enough to either escape or for us to show up."</p>
<p>"Ghost I don't think this is the time to be-" </p>
<p>mikki cuts Parker off, "I already approved of this, Hikaru Aiko and Clara are gonna go with her."</p>
<p>Axel whos only been half paying attention this entire time looks up from their phone, "Hey what the fuck?"</p>
<p>"Axel your quirk isnt made for combat so you and Blaine stay here, Parker, if you could help me we could probably give them some basic combat training."</p>
<p>"I need to focus on this drone, Cheyenne has been through some good training, I'm sure she'll help. But that's beside the point. Do you really think it's the best idea to be out in the open, using your quirks, gathering attention?"</p>
<p>"We'll be careful. I promise."</p>
<p>Aiko goes to walk out the room, "Yeah no fuck that." Ghost stands up and stops him. "No, I don't wanna go with you. I'm sorry."</p>
<p>Ghost looks at Mikki who sighs and puts her hand on his shoulder. "Aiko, your quirk is out of control, it's attached itself to your trauma and it's becoming a problem."</p>
<p>"I can't help it!"</p>
<p>"Exactly, I can handle the break downs, I can deal with the anxiety, I understand your pain. But I can't handle someone getting hurt again. You need to learn some control, and i hate to say it cause I know it will only make it worse but i will use force to get you in the car with them."</p>
<p>Aiko starts shaking.</p>
<p>"Easy way or hard way?"</p>
<p>With a distraught tone. Aiko turns around, "I guess i'll go get dressed."</p>
<p>After a moment of awkward silence, Hikaru and Clara go to change.</p>
<p>"I still stand by the fact this is bullshit," Axel shouts, Blaine nods in agreement.</p>
<p>As Ghost and the kids go to walk out the door mikki stops them, "What the fuck are you wearing?"</p>
<p>"My clothes?"</p>
<p>"Exactly," she reaches up to smack her on the back of the head, "The fuck is wrong with you." She rips the mask off her face, "Did you forget you tossed out thousands of these to your followers and told them to wear them while they rioted?" She forcibly removes Ghost's trench coat. "You wear this every time you're spotted are you an idiot?"</p>
<p>Parker shouting from the dining room table, "Yes."</p>
<p>Mikki walks out with a thick hoodie, "Wear this!"</p>
<p>A little hurt she looks down, 'my mask,' she thinks to herself.</p>
<p>"Ghost they don't know what you look like," she says monotoned while handing her the hoodie to put on.</p>
<p>"But."</p>
<p>Turning on her mom voice she narrows her eyes, "no masks!"</p>
<p>Ghost sighs and puts the hoodie on, once they leave Mikki starts pushing all the furniture to the edges of the room. "Okay lads we are gonna do some warm ups then I will wake Cheyenne up to help us."</p>
<p>"No offense mom, but what are you gonna teach us?"</p>
<p>"I'll show! Axel, try to attack me."</p>
<p>"I don't want to, I might hurt you."</p>
<p>"No it's okay, try to take me down."</p>
<p>They sigh, "Fine." Axel gets into a fighting stance and goes to attack, before they even realize what happened, they were on the floor with the wind knocked out. Blaine immediately starts laughing.</p>
<p>"Haha my turn!"</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0012"><h2>12. Snow Covered Spikes</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Ghost turns off the main road into a dirt path, they drive for a few minutes. The surrounding area is nothing but snow dusted fields with dead grass poking through. Now and then they would see an abandoned ISO container riddled with graffiti. One caught hikaru's attention in particular, it was an explosion of color with what appeared to be Allmight's Silhouette placed on top. With red spray paint someone put red Xs over where the eyes would be and a frown. Written over the chest were the words 'if you weren't there my son would be alive.' She wondered if that was the message of the original artist or if someone else went over it. Regardless, she understood, Almight's recklessness has hurt as many people as he's saved.</p>
<p>The car ride was silent, Clara sat upfront mostly just staring out the window. Hikaru and Aiko sat in the back. Aiko never once looked up the entire ride, his eyes were wide open and his hands were shaking. Hikaru tried to calm him but he never responded so she settled with holding his hand.</p>
<p>When the car finally stops they all get out. like the area leading up it was mostly field but it had a lot more crates. There were about three lanes of train tracks ahead along with what appeared to be an abandoned factory. The air was surprisingly dry and the dead grass and leaves crunched below their footsteps as they moved toward the factory.</p>
<p>Hikaru in an attempt to break the tension in the air looks up, "I'm eighty percent sure this is like the start of at least four horror movies," she nudges Aiko with her elbow, "haha, am I right?"</p>
<p>Aiko doesn't respond but Clara turns around as she walks, "Oh don't say that I hate horror movies!" she says while laughing.</p>
<p>"So uh, Ghost, I know we're here to train but why here of all places?"</p>
<p>"I used to train here when I first moved to the city, Parker and Sapphire would come too. This was before we would take over abandoned warehouses."</p>
<p>"Neat."</p>
<p>Clara looks up, "looks like it's starting to snow again."</p>
<p>As they get up to the factory Ghost goes to open the door but for some reason it's locked which kinda surprised her. She kicks the door open and hears a few small clatters on the concrete floor, looks like someone had nailed it shut.</p>
<p>On the inside it was practically empty, looks like the place was looted for mechanical parts centuries ago. There's a large hole in the ceiling letting more than enough light and snow in, and random bits of rubble on the ground. The hundreds of random scorch marks on the ground and just about every other surface really proves the fact that Sapphire really did train here.</p>
<p>Ghost rolls up her sleeves, "Once upon a time." The large book appears behind her and opens onto a random page.</p>
<p>"Oh shit, just like that, we're going for it?"</p>
<p>"Dont worry. I don't intend to use my quirk on you, for the most part this is for the convenience of you being able to listen to what I'm saying without looking at me. Okay from my understanding of what all your quirks are. you're a porcupine," she points at Aiko, "you're a flash grenade with cat ears," she points at hikaru, "And you can edit reality," she points at Clara.</p>
<p>"I always saw myself as a pufferfish but okay..."</p>
<p>"That's beside the point," Ghost picks up a small rock lying on the ground.</p>
<p>"I'm also a little offended by this, I can do more than flash bomb people, I can also manipulate wave lengths and have cat like agi-" Ghost throws the rock at hikaru and it hits her in the forehead. "I WASN'T READY!"</p>
<p>"Does anyone else have anything to say?"</p>
<p>Clara raises her hand, "I don't think I would be too good in a fight, my quirk takes a lot of concentration."</p>
<p>"That was actually one of things I wanted to bring up today. You see separately you are all very strong to point, but in different ways. Hikaru you're good with close combat, Clara you'd be good at a distance so long as you could focus, and aiko, you have potential for either.</p>
<p>"Somehow I feel like Ghost just insulted me."</p>
<p>Ghost walks over to aiko and forces him to stand straight and makes him hold out his hand, "For right now I want you to focus on activating your quirk but focus on one spike appearing on your hand."</p>
<p>"I don't know how to activate my quirk."</p>
<p>"Figure it out." She walks over to Clara and makes her sit criss cross on the ground. "I want you to focus on letting objects pass through you, I will be randomly throwing things at you throughout the day so stay focused."</p>
<p>"And what about me, want me to see how bright I can get?"</p>
<p>"No, your flash bomb can hurt your teammates as well so you need to use it responsibly and with pinpoint accuracy. Me and you are going to spar."</p>
<p>"Can I state how unfair it is that their task is to concentrate, while mine is to fight you?"</p>
<p>"No."</p>
<p>"Well at least I asked," she gets into a fighting stance. "How exactly do I win?"</p>
<p>"When you can knock me over."</p>
<p>"That's fair enough." Hikaru unsheaths her claws as she runs forward, the second she gets close enough Ghost simply turns around, in a swift motion her cosmic book closes and slams into Hikaru's side knocking her to the ground.</p>
<p>The book opens back to the current page and Ghosts words begin to fill them, "Do not assume a target will wait for you to attack, always be prepared for counters."</p>
<p>Hikaru rubs her shoulder, "Would it kill you to go a little easy on us?"</p>
<p>"Yes. Now again."</p>
<p>Clara gives her a thumbs up and a smile only to immediately get hit in the forehead with a small rock, "Focus on yourself Clara!"</p>
<p>She rubs her forehead, "Ow!" she picks up the rock and throws it back.</p>
<p>"FOCUS!"</p>
<p>"OKAY!"</p>
<p>Hikaru runs at Ghost again, when she goes to turn hikaru ducks under it only for the book to fall and squish her on the pavement. "I- I was unaware you could fully control the book."</p>
<p>"Of course I can control the book, can you control your tail?" Ghost lifts the book up and it returns to its idle position.</p>
<p>"Touche."</p>
<p>"Can I ask a question," Aiko asks.</p>
<p>"That is a question."</p>
<p>"I hate you."</p>
<p>"What's your question aiko?"</p>
<p>"What happens if I can't activate my quirk?"</p>
<p>"I call mikki to pick up the girls and we stay here till you can."</p>
<p>Aiko takes a moment to breathe and tries to focus, while Ghost is distracted collecting another rock to throw at Clara, Hikaru takes a cheap shot and kicks the back of Ghost's knee causing her to collapse.</p>
<p>"HA!"</p>
<p>"Good always take advantage of the situation."</p>
<p>"I win, right?'</p>
<p>Ghost throws a rock at the back of Clara's head, she yelps not in pain but because it startled her. "That doesn't really count as knocking me over."</p>
<p>"That's not fair."</p>
<p>"Yeah your hands touched the ground, it should count," Clara shouts.</p>
<p>"I told you to focus!"</p>
<p>Clara sticks her tongue out at her and turns back around, she closes her eyes and tries to concentrate.</p>
<p>"Fine it counts, you can sit down, just periodically throw something at Clara till it starts passing through her." Ghost walks over to Aiko, he's so preoccupied, he doesn't notice her standing next to him. "How's it coming?"</p>
<p>The sound of Ghost's voice startles him and he spikes out on the left side of his body as he yells out in fear. They retract in an instance with the only trace of them being the holes they poked through his jacket. Aiko sighs in frustration as he looks at her with frustration.</p>
<p>"What did you feel just now?"</p>
<p>"Hatred."</p>
<p>"No literally, when your quirk activated what did it feel like?"</p>
<p>"I don't know man, things?"</p>
<p>"Try to describe it."</p>
<p>"Like, I guess like, a chill rushes through my body?"</p>
<p>Ghost stands behind Aiko and lifts up his arm, "I want you to imagine a chill running through your arm and only your arm."</p>
<p>"i have personal space issues."</p>
<p>"Sorry," she lets go of Aiko.</p>
<p>Aiko closes his eyes and imagines a chill running down his arm from his shoulder to his finger tips. As he does this a line of spikes appear one after another down the path he created in his mind. Aiko opens his eyes to see his arm spiked out and lets out a joyful laugh.</p>
<p>"Good job aiko!" Clara shouts as she claps a few times for him, Hikaru throws a rock and it hits her on the nose.</p>
<p>"Focus!"</p>
<p>"I can and will break up with you," Clara crosses her arms and looks away.</p>
<p>"WE'RE DATING?"</p>
<p>"ARNT WE?"</p>
<p>"Can y'all not, I'm having a moment."</p>
<p>Ghost pats aiko on the shoulder, "good job, now retract them."</p>
<p>"Shit."</p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<p>Back at wayward Cheyenne sits on the kitchen counter drinking water as Axel and Blaine lay on the floor panting. "Y'all bout ready to go again?"</p>
<p>"For the love of god give us 10 more minutes."</p>
<p>"I didn't hit you guys that hard."</p>
<p>Blaine sits up, "I'm eighty percent sure I have a concussion now."</p>
<p>"Just be happy Sapphire isn't fronting right now, not only does her quirk make her stronger but her body temp rises when she trains so it'd be like a thousand degrees in here. Plus even the smallest slap would burn."</p>
<p>Parker is sitting at the table as she tinkers with her old bee drone, Momo is sitting in her lap to keep her out of the way of the others. Once Cheyenne woke up it was about time for mikki to open up the cafe so she went down stairs.</p>
<p>Cheyenne sets her water down, "Now that you somewhat understand close combat let's talk about takedowns, you're both short as hell so you'll most likely be fighting people bigger than you."</p>
<p>Axel finally regains the willpower to stand up, "Five six isnt that short."</p>
<p>"Maybe, if you were a woman."</p>
<p>A disgusted look appears on both their faces.</p>
<p>"Don't look at me like that, blame your mothers."</p>
<p>"I've never met my mother."</p>
<p>"Axel, it is not the time to unpack your baggage."</p>
<p>"You're the one standing in wayward talking about moms."</p>
<p>"Moving on," she walks to the storage closet and pulls out the broom and mop and unscrews the heads. "Parker can you take a break and help me for a sec?"</p>
<p>"No."</p>
<p>"Please?"</p>
<p>Parker sighs, "Fine." She sets Momo down and does a few quick stretches, Cheyenne throws her the broom handle.</p>
<p>"Okay so a lot of people use staffs as blunt weapons but when you're unsure of your opponent brute force isn't always the best option. Maybe they have rock hard skin, or they're made of termites, or something else. Use it less as a wacker and more as an extension.</p>
<p>Parker steps into the center of the room and holds her 'staff' up in defense.</p>
<p>"Okay let's say you're in a stalemate," she stands in front of Parker and they both begin to push against one another. "Simply use their force to your advantage, hey, do you want me to go in like slow motion so I don't actually hit you?"</p>
<p>"Nah, you can hit me. Builds up my tolerance to pain."</p>
<p>"Okay cool." Cheyenne very quickly steps slightly to the side so her staff quickly moves to the side bashing Parker into the side of the head knocking her over. She gets up and shakes it off.</p>
<p>"Or maybe your opponent is stronger than you."</p>
<p>Parker stands back into her defensive position and in a swift motion goes to swipe her staff at cheyenne. She quickly ducks sliding her staff behind Parker's legs and pulls her toward her causing her knees to cave in. when she hits the round cheyenne quickly stands up and puts the staff to her throat.</p>
<p>"See, isn't that easy?"</p>
<p>Axel and Blaine stare in amazement, "I wanna try," Axel shouts.</p>
<p>Parker stands up, "You could actually stand to hit a little harder. Something on your mind?"</p>
<p>"Other than Sapphire, not much."</p>
<p>"Very funny." Parker hands her 'staff' to Blaine and goes back to work Momo hops back into her lap.</p>
<p>Cheyenne hands her 'staff' to axel, "Okay have at it."</p>
<p>"Wait we have to fight each other?"</p>
<p>"Yep, the first person to disarm and knock out the other gets bragging rights and twenty bucks."</p>
<p>"Axel, I in no way need the money but I can and will knock the shit out of you."</p>
<p>"I'd like to see you try!"</p>
<p>"That's the spirit! I don't have a whistle but uh, go!"</p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<p>After getting hit with the one hundredth rock, Clara's eye began to twitch. Aiko was in the back discovering that if he focused on his breathing his spikes would extend and retract with each breath. Hikaru got bored of watching Clara focus and decided finding out how bright she could glow would be cool to find out. Every now and then she would make a glow worm joke.</p>
<p>Ghost throws yet another stone at Clara and she snaps, "This isn't working!"</p>
<p>"You just need to-"</p>
<p>"I SWEAR TO THE GODS IF YOU SAY FOCUS," Clara's hair begins to ignore gravity and flow up and sway as if she's underwater, "I WILL COLLAPSE THIS ENTIRE BUILDING"</p>
<p>"I was gonna say concentrate.," Ghost throws another rock.</p>
<p>Clara's eyes dilated to near specks, and in the moment before the rock hit her, a vortex opened up in front of her and swallowed the stone, in an instant another vortex opened behind her and spit it out. Its speed had increased and smashed into the back of hikaru's head.</p>
<p>Clara blinks as she realizes what she did, her hair falls down and the vortexes vanish, "Holy shit."</p>
<p>"Fuck, that hurt more then the bloody book," she rubs the back of her head and feels something wet. She looks at her hand and turns around to look at Ghost, "Hey, I'm bleeding."</p>
<p>"A normal amount or a lot?"</p>
<p>"A lot."</p>
<p>"Sorry hikaru." Clara walks over to her and tries to activate her quirk to heal her.</p>
<p>A chill runs up her spine as she can feel the wound scab over within seconds, "Mmm, don't like that."</p>
<p>Ghost parts Hikaru's hair back to look at the injury, "You can't get it to heal all the way?"</p>
<p>"Yeah, a scab is about as far as I can get unfortunately, I think it requires a lot of energy or something. Either that or im stupid.</p>
<p>Ghost pats them both on the head, "Youre not stupid."</p>
<p>"Hey guys look," Aiko takes in a deep breath and holds it and spikes pop out all over his body. </p>
<p>"Neat!"</p>
<p>"Good job aiko."</p>
<p>Aikos nose twitches and his eyes squint.</p>
<p>"You good my guy," Hikaru asks jokingly.</p>
<p>Aiko sneezes and clenches all his muscles. his spikes shoot out at a high velocity, Ghost with a quick reaction time pulls Hikaru and Clara close and ducks behind her book. Every surface within Aiko's radius is covered in spikes, including several pushed deep into the cosmic book.</p>
<p>Aiko laughs, "Holy shit, I didn't know I could do that!"</p>
<p>Clara and Hikaru stand up, "That was both cool and scary, right Ghost?" hikaru's heart drops as she sees blood dripping from the cosmic book. "Why does the book bleed?"</p>
<p>The cosmic book fazes out of existence and the spikes fall and clatter on the pavement, Ghost collapses.</p>
<p>"Oh my god you killed Ghost."</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0013"><h2>13. Don't Panic</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>The three stood there in silence, Clara and Hikaru both looked at Aiko in horror. They all immediately started screaming. Aiko fell to his knees and started crying. Hikaru grabbed Clara, the only one still yelling and smacked her.</p>
<p>"Get a hold of yourself and heal her," Hikaru shouted.</p>
<p>Clara bent down next to Ghost and started to look at her, "How am I supposed to heal her? She has no wounds!"</p>
<p>"Then what's wrong with her?"</p>
<p>"How am I supposed to know?"</p>
<p>Aiko puts his hands on his head as he bends over practically putting his face on the pavement, he loses control of his quirk. The spikes grow, pulsate, and vanish on random parts of his body.</p>
<p>Hikaru looks at him, "Aiko, this isn't the time to be having a nervous breakdown!"</p>
<p>"Does anyone have a cell phone," Clara asks as her hands begin to shake.</p>
<p>"I left mine in the car, Aiko did you bring yours?"</p>
<p>Aiko doesn't respond, the world around him practically goes dark, he can barely see through the tears. The spikes continue to tear holes in his clothes except now the spikes are only appearing on his back.</p>
<p>"For the love of-"</p>
<p>"Hikaru!"</p>
<p>"What?"</p>
<p>"Help me roll Ghost over," Clara struggles to roll Ghost onto her back.</p>
<p>"What the hell are you doing?"</p>
<p>"We need the keys!"</p>
<p>Hikaru bends down and grabs Ghost by her sweater sleeve and with a lot of effort they manage to get her on her back. "The fuck is she made of, pure metal?"</p>
<p>Clara starts checking all the pockets on Ghost but unfortunately doesn't find them. "For the love of the gods don't tell me."</p>
<p>Clara and Hikaru run out of the building leaving Aiko behind, Clara slips in the snow but Hikaru keeps going toward the car. She wipes off the side window to see the keys still in the ignition, she checks all the doors. locked; She screams out of frustration as she bangs her fists on the side window.</p>
<p>"Clara! Go back to the building and try to calm Aiko down. He could probably break the glass, I'm gonna look for a large rock," she shouts.</p>
<p>"OKAY!" Clara runs back toward the building being careful not to trip again. When she walks into the building she finds Aiko still crying on the floor. "Aiko! Aiko! You need to calm down!"</p>
<p>He doesn't respond, Clara looks back at Ghost and decides if she has to do anything at this moment, it's to be mean. She takes a deep breath, "Listen to me you twink mother fucker I don't wanna have to do this but you leave me no choice!"</p>
<p>Clara picks up a random two by four on the ground and uses it to hit Aiko, it knocks him over and practically out of his melt down. "Listen to me!" she screams. "Stop acting like a baby! You hurt Ghost okay, it happens! Now you have to fix it! How do you think everyone will feel about how not only did you hurt Ghost, you laid around crying as she died instead of helping!"</p>
<p>Aiko stares in silence, eyes wide open. Clara drops the two by four, the clatter echoes through the building. "Now go help Hikaru!"</p>
<p>He wipes the tears from his face and runs outside, Hikaru is aggressively smashing the side window with a rock to no avail. When he gets to the car he doesn't say anything, he places his hand on the corner of the window. Aiko takes a deep breath and closes his eyes. A spike grows on the palm of his hand and shatters the glass. Him and Hikaru very carefully pull the glass out the window enough for her to reach in and unlock the door.</p>
<p>Hikaru grabs the first phone she sees and tells it to call home.</p>
<p>Axel is laying on the ground using his staff to keep Blaine from hitting him in the face, Blaine is laughing like an evil villain.</p>
<p>"Come on Axel you can do this, I believe in you buddy," Cheyenne has to keep herself from laughing when the phone starts ringing.</p>
<p>Parker, intensely focused on wiring, looks up, "Hey can you get that?"</p>
<p>Cheyenne walks into the kitchen, "yeah i got it," she picks up the phone off the wall hook. Before she can even say hello she hears the sound of Hikaru yelling.</p>
<p>"Hello, hello? Mom! We need help, Ghost is hurt, we don't know what to do, there was blood but now there isn't she's unconscious," there's a few seconds pause, "Did anyone think to check if she was breathing?"</p>
<p>The second Cheyenne heard the words 'Ghost is hurt' her irises vanished, small cracks formed in her skin and a thin layer of lava began to shine through, Sapphire began fronting. "Calm down, calm down. Where are you?"</p>
<p>"I'm not actually sure, we're by the train tracks, Ghost said you guys used to train here, in this old factory building."</p>
<p>"Okay, I'm on my way." Sapphire calmly hangs up the phone and as she walks out the door Parker notices her.</p>
<p>"Oh, Sapphire, you're back, sorry about the hair."</p>
<p>"It's fine," Sapphire walks out the room and down into the cafe, "Mikki, can I borrow your car, the kids need help."</p>
<p>"The kids need help?" she repeats in a panicked tone, "What happened? Where are they?"</p>
<p>"It's okay, I have it under control, where are your keys?"</p>
<p>Mikki sets down her tray and grabs her keys from behind the counter and hands them to Sapphire.</p>
<p>"Thank you, i'll fill you in when I get back."</p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<p>The phone hangs up, Hikaru looks at Aiko, "Okay an adult is coming, we are legally allowed to panic now."</p>
<p>Aiko sits in the car, "I'm just gonna stay out here."</p>
<p>"Fair enough!" Hikaru leaves and runs toward the building, Clara is standing in the doorway. "Hey, is Ghost breathing?"</p>
<p>Clara's heart drops, "I didn't think to check." She bends down next to Ghost, she can feel the faint breath on her ear. "Kinda."</p>
<p>"Kinda?"</p>
<p>"Kinda!" they look at each other, Hikaru sits down. There's no point in getting worked up because there's nothing they can do at this point. Hikaru puts her arm around Clara and they sit in silence as they wait.</p>
<p>Forty five minutes later Aiko is startled by the sound of a car spreading past him, "That's not gonna end well." He says as the car slams on its brakes and skids a little bit down the road kicking up the settled snow. He steps out of the car as the other comes to a slow stop.</p>
<p>When Sapphire steps out of the car the snow instantly melts underneath her feet she quickly gets surrounded by steam as snowflakes land on her she walks into the building, "Okay what happened?"</p>
<p>Hikaru and Clara both stand up and start talking over each other, she holds up her hand, "One at a time."</p>
<p>"Turns out Aiko can shoot out his spikes! And he did, accidently, in every direction, and Ghost protected us but they stabbed the book, there was a lot of blood then it vanished and Ghost collapsed." Hikaru shouts barely slow enough for anyone to understand.</p>
<p>"Oh thank god it's nothing serious," Sapphire walks over to Ghost's body.</p>
<p>"Wait this isn't serious?"</p>
<p>"No not at all," she bends down and smacks Ghost as hard as she can, "Wake up!"</p>
<p>Ghost's eyes immediately open and she darts up, she looks at Sapphire with a look of betrayal but before she can sign anything Clara and Hikaru instantly jump into Ghosts' arms giving her a hug.</p>
<p>"We were so scared," Clara shouts.</p>
<p>Ghost pats them each on the head as she looks up realizing that Sapphire is fronting again.</p>
<p>Sapphire looks around, "Where's Aiko?"</p>
<p>The girls stand up and as Clara wipes her eyes she points at the door, "He's outside."</p>
<p>Sapphire walks out of the building and sees him in the distance, "You okay buddy," she shouts.</p>
<p>"Emotionally or physically?"</p>
<p>"Physically."</p>
<p>"Im really cold."</p>
<p>She waves at him to come closer. Aiko sighs and closes the car door, and makes his way to her. She scoops him up into a big hug, it startles him at first but the instant relief of how warm Sapphire is, calms his nerves. She picks him up.</p>
<p>"Woah hey now, you can't just carry me like a baby!"</p>
<p>She moves him onto her back, "Watch me!" she walks back into the building, "Okay come on kids that's enough excitement for today. Who wants to ride with me?" Hikaru and Clara both raise their hands. "Ghost you should probably also ride with me, a cop might pull you over with a busted window."</p>
<p>Ghost nods in agreement, "When we get home can we talk?"</p>
<p>"Sure."</p>
<p>The second everyone walks into the building they are bombarded by mikki, "My babies! Are you alright? What happened?" she notices all the dried blood on the hood of hikaru's jacket. She looks up at Ghost and grabs her by the sweater, "What did you do to my children? So help me i will further break your stupid nose."</p>
<p>Ghost instinctively puts her hands up when Clara steps between them, "Actually it's my fault! There was a little hiccup with my quirk and I launched a rock at Hikaru!"</p>
<p>"Oh okay, I'm sure you didn't mean it," she pats Clara on the top of her head. "I should probably get started on dinner."</p>
<p>The kids walk upstairs and Sapphire goes to follow them but Ghost grabs her arm, Sapphire's body temperature begins to rise, burning Ghost's hand slightly but she doesn't let go. She pulls her into a hug.</p>
<p>"Let go of me you bastard."</p>
<p>Ghost only hugs her tighter.</p>
<p>"I won't forgive you, not this time!" She tries to pull away but Ghost won't let her, Sapphire's lava like tears begin to well up in her eyes. "You don't deserve my forgiveness!"</p>
<p>The little droplets of lava fall onto Ghost's shoulders burning through the sweater fabric, but again she refuses to let go no matter how much it hurts.</p>
<p>Sapphire clenches the fabric on Ghost's back and buries her face into her chest, "Why are you such a horrible person? You can't just say shitty things and then hug me like this, like I'm the only person in the world that matters!"</p>
<p>Ghost finally pulls away and signs the words, "but you are the only person in the world that matters."</p>
<p>Sapphire can feel the lava dripping down her face but she makes sure to catch it in her hands so as to not burn Wayward down.</p>
<p>Blaine was secretly standing at the top of the stairs decides to break the tenstion in the air, "Why is everyone in this house gay?"</p>
<p>Sapphire can't help but laugh a little, she hardens the lava in her hands to make small pebbles and throws them at Blaine, "get out of here you tiny bastard!"</p>
<p>Blaine runs into the common room only avoiding a few of the rocks. Sapphire turns to look at Ghost.</p>
<p>"I said some horrible things and I can never take them back but I will do my best to make up for them. I won't ask you to forgive me, I will however ask for the right to try and be better. So maybe one day you can forgive me."</p>
<p>Sapphire hugs her, "You're still a dick though."</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0014"><h2>14. Coawardly Heroes</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Max walked into the interrogation room for what felt like the hundredth time, she had been conducting interviews of the ahav members that were in custody. They were all given a deal that after an interview if they were not one of the members that partook in the violent acts in Allmight Square they would be allowed to leave without a mark on their record. Everyday after her morning coffee Max would say 'those who I touch can't tell lies.' And she would start her work. There were about fifty people on her list today, this batch were members who protested in front of the Karu-Eru agency.</p>
<p>There was quite a bit of public outrage that even the peaceful protesters were taken into custody. They understood the arrest of those from Allmight Square but not the others. Max agreed that it was distasteful. Mr. Magma told reporters that the reasoning behind this decision was that no stone should be overlooked, that someone must have information about the Ghost Writer's whereabouts. Except they didn't. Not even the members they caught burning down an old warehouse knew where Ghost was. If she didn't get any information from them she knew she'd get none from the protesters but Magma insisted.</p>
<p>She sat down at the table, cuffed to it in front of her is an older gentleman. Quite muscular with a great big beard, he reminded her of her father. She put on her fake smile that almost hurt everytime she did it. As a hero she knows she's failed him and everyone outside waiting to be interviewed. She taps a button on a large recording device, something inside starts to turn.</p>
<p>Max places her hand onto the man's, "please state your full name for the record."</p>
<p>"My name is Wade Grayson."</p>
<p>"Mr. Grayson, do you know Ghost Writer's real name?"</p>
<p>"No."</p>
<p>"Do you know her current location?"</p>
<p>"No."</p>
<p>"Were you aware she killed twenty heroes?"</p>
<p>"Yes."</p>
<p>"Why do you follow Ghost Writer?"</p>
<p>"She got revenge for me."</p>
<p>That was the first time someone had answered that question in such a way, most said she gave them hope, or liked her ideals, a few even said they followed her because the gods spoke through her. Never once has someone had anything to say about revenge.</p>
<p>"Could you elaborate on that."</p>
<p>"My daughter, she was so happy when she moved to the city. She got a nice fancy job working for a hero blog. She always loved heroes, even when she was little. Every Day she'd call me and tell me about a new and exciting hero she got to interview and write about. And then she met Cosmic Wolf, he was her favorite. She interviewed him dozens of times, no one wanted to believe he raped her. They said she chose to meet him at that fancy restaurant, she chose to get in his car. The broken rib and the 4 inch deep bite mark on her shoulder was something she wanted to happen. She got fired from her job, the bastard's agency threatened legal action on counts of slander. And about after her hundredth death threat from a crazed fan she killed herself. A year later I heard about Ghost Writer from an old work buddy. Writer was looking to do justice to us so I forced my way as close to her as I could. Told my story to some glowing chick. Then a few weeks ago I got to watch that cosmic bastard cut out his own tongue and slit his throat."</p>
<p>Max stared in awe, she hadn't heard a single negative comment about any of the heroes that went missing, not one. If it wasn't for her quirk compelling him to tell the truth she'd still know it wasn't a lie, the pain in his eyes told her everything she needed to know. Max instantly lost sight of her objective, no longer cared about the other questions.</p>
<p>"Do you wish you killed him yourself?"</p>
<p>The two police officers standing behind the one way glass looked at each other. "That's not on the script."</p>
<p>Wade clenched his fist, "Yes."</p>
<p>"Did the other heroes deserve to be killed?"</p>
<p>"Yes!"</p>
<p>"Do you think all heroes deserve the same fate?"</p>
<p>Wade's teeth grew slightly to a point, "Not all, just the ones who stand in Writers way!"</p>
<p>One of the officers held down the comms button, "Silver tongue please stay on topic.</p>
<p>"Am I one of those heroes?"</p>
<p>Wade's voice deepened as if a beast was slowly taking over, "Yes! Heroes like you silence us, hold us hostage and refuse to let change happen!"</p>
<p>"What are you prepared to do to enact that change?"</p>
<p>"Whatever it takes!" he shouts as he flexes his muscles. Within an instant the handcuffs break off. He puts his hands on the edge of the table, though bolted to the ground rips it off the floor as if it was nothing. It slams into the wall, Max snapping out of her daze goes to shout something but before she gets a chance the man grabs her by the throat and lifts her into the air.</p>
<p>Two officers bust into the room and subdue him, Max falls to the ground coughing as Wade is pinned onto the floor, she struggles to speak while trying to catch her breath. "No stop!"</p>
<p>"Silver are you alright?"</p>
<p>"Stop, let him go. I instigated it, it's my fault!" Max stands up, she sways trying to hold her balance.</p>
<p>"I don't think," the officer tries to say but Max lifts her hand, cutting him off.</p>
<p>"That was an order, let him go."</p>
<p>Wade's tense demeanor loosens as the officers let him stand up, his muscles nowhere near as bulky and his teeth no longer sharpened he looks at the room around him. Almost ashamed of his actions he refuses to look Max in the eye. She opens the door and gestures outward. "Thank you for your time, Mr. Grayson.</p>
<p>The two officers look at one another as the man leaves. "How long will it take for the," max gestures at everything, "to be fixed?"</p>
<p>"I don't know."</p>
<p>She sighs, "Fair enough." Max steps out of the room and looks down the hall at all the people waiting in line. "Thank you everyone for patiently waiting. We have collected all the data we need. You are all free to go, no need to worry about a mark on your record, the deal stands if you got an interview or not."</p>
<p>Sighs of relief fill the room and everyone begins funneling out of the building. Max runs her hands through her hair pushing in back. She bends down and grabs the recording device and turns it off. She picks up her papers that have been scattered across the floor.</p>
<p>"Mr. Magma isn't gonna be happy about this."</p>
<p>"I don't care, let him be mad. I'm going back to my agency and hopefully I can get some real hero work done. Have someone call me a cab."</p>
<p>"Yes ma'am," the two officers bow and exit the room.</p>
<p>'What am I doing with my life, I'm disobeying orders, I continue to withhold information about the case. I'm starting to act like a bad guy, and for what? I was stupid enough to fall for a villian? She murdered all those people,' Max thinks to herself as she walks out of the police precinct.</p>
<p>She sees a cab pull up as she waits outside, she tells the man to take her to HIA. The drive there is almost silent. The only thing she could hear was the driver's faint humming and the other cars zooming past.</p>
<p>'Maybe Ghost isn't a villain, change has never once come peacefully. Maybe the fact that the people under Ghost took such drastic action just proves how broken the system is. If all the heroes that died on that stage did awful things like Cosmic Wolf then wouldn't that mean they deserved it? No no, no one deserves to die like that, not without a trial.'</p>
<p>Max can see HIA coming up in the distance, as they got closer she unfortunately could also see Mr. Magma, most likely waiting for her. The cab slows to a halt and she pays him. As she steps out she looks at Magma, "I can explain."</p>
<p>Magma holds up his hand, "Wait till we're inside, follow me to my office."</p>
<p>She closes the cab door, "Yes sir."</p>
<p>Next to Magma, as they walk in is Neil aka Extinguish, Mr. Magma's side kick. Neil always had a nervous look about him but right now it looked worse than usual.</p>
<p>"Magma I know what I did was against your direct orders but after interviewing the people I did I started to notice a pattern." They all step into the elevator, headed to the top floor.</p>
<p>"I heard one very interesting story about Cosmic Wolf and it led me to think about the fact that hero agencies are covering up a lot of things they shouldn't be! I mean if some of these accusations are true it's understandable why they are acting so drastically!"</p>
<p>As they exit the elevator magma is completely silent, Neil looks as if he's sweating but Max chooses to ignore his obvious warning signs and continues as they walk toward Magma's office.</p>
<p>"Mr. Magma we are personally supporting," as they step into his office Neil goes to shut the door, "a system that promotes distrust and corruption!"</p>
<p>The second the door is closed Magma turns around and slaps Max so hard she hits the floor, his hand print left not a red mark but a burn across her face. Completely caught off guard by this she simply stays on the ground with her hand on her cheek.</p>
<p>Magma moves to sit behind his desk, "Listen kid, if you ever wanna go anywhere as a hero you need to learn to keep your fucking mouth shut, and to mind your own damn buissness!"</p>
<p>"So it's true?"</p>
<p>"What did you say?"</p>
<p>Max stands up, "so you knew, all those heroes that died were scum, the worst hero society had to offer but you painted them as heroic do gooders who were taken out of their prime by a horrible villain!"</p>
<p>Neil suddenly finds it very hard to swallow as he backs up to the wall, Magma stands up, "Nobody becomes a hero cause they want to save people, being a hero comes with perks, or else no one would do the job."</p>
<p>"I would, but I can see you wouldn't, do you often strike your employees or just the female ones."</p>
<p>As rage fills Magma Max can see the literal lava inside him begin to boil over, it leaks from his eyes, ears, and the corner of his mouth. He steps out from behind his desk, he places his hand on Max's throat and pushes her back against the door, he singes the skin under his grip but he doesn't squeeze.</p>
<p>"I did you a favor, I pulled you out of the gutter of this agency, your potential wasted on patrol work. I gave you a real job on the top floor, a member of my personal task force. We are hunting down one of the most dangerous villains and the only reason you have not died in a freak accident is because you are one of the only two people I have that can face that monster."</p>
<p>"Is that a threat Mr. Magma?"</p>
<p>"Yes, it is," he lets go of her but she stands her ground.</p>
<p>"You're the reason people hate heroes."</p>
<p>With in an instant magma puts his hand over her mouth, she can feel it get increasingly hotter with each second but she can't escape his grasp she can't help but scream as the pain becomes unbearable, "I will fill your entire mouth with lava, i wonder how your quirk will react to your inability to speak!"</p>
<p>"Magma."</p>
<p>He ignores Neil as his temperature rises, "I will ruin every dream you ever had about being a hero and I will do so now, you think I'm afraid of some bitch with a loud mouth?"</p>
<p>"MAGMA," Neil shouts, finally getting his attention, "Magma, we need her."</p>
<p>He lets go of Max and she collapses on the ground. She struggles to get her words out. The pain is too much, she can feel as if the skin on her lower face has melted off but in truth it's worse. Neil does his best to not throw up at the sight. He goes to activate his quirk to give her the slightest relief so she can use hers but Magma stops him. Through tears she finally manages to say through her pained stutters "I can self heal!"</p>
<p>Magma watches as her burned flesh begins to heal, "Know your place, and do your job. Once this is all over you won't have one unless you learn to keep your mouth shut."</p>
<p>"Y- yes sir."</p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<p>Ghost sits on the sofa lacing up a pair of snow boots, as Mikki digs through a large box. "I know I have a pair somewhere that will fit you Clara, I'm sure of it!" she begins tossing out random items.</p>
<p>Hikaru walks out zipping up her jacket, "Hey Ghost, Aiko wants to know if he can sit this one out, just today, he promises to come if we go tomorrow."</p>
<p>'Tell him it's fine I understand.'</p>
<p>Mikki shouts, "AHH HA!" as she pulls out an old shoe box from the back of the closet knocking several things over. "I knew I had a pair of snow boots laying around!"</p>
<p>Clara takes them and sits next to Ghost. She pulls out the pair they were bright indigo, she lets out a little gasp, "my favorite color."</p>
<p>Mikki, ignoring the mess she just caused, dusts off her hands. "Okay, do you have enough layers on?"</p>
<p>"Yeah I have a few!"</p>
<p>"I was talking to Ghost."</p>
<p>Ghost looks up, confused. "I know how to dress myself. I'm not a child!"</p>
<p>"But you are a dumbass. Come on, how many layers do you have on?"</p>
<p>"Mikki i am an adult i do not need you to police how I dress," Mikki begins to walk over to Ghost. She stands up, "what are you doing get away from me!"</p>
<p>After a bit of a struggle. Mikki managed to get Ghost to wear at least three layers.</p>
<p>"Okay you guys better stay safe and warm, don't be gone too long, if my kids get frostbite i'll kill you," Mikki tightens Hikaru's scarf and hugs the two girls goodbye.</p>
<p>the three walk out and head on their way. Axel Blaine Momo and Parker are sitting at the table eating breakfast. Axel is covered in bruises.</p>
<p>Sapphire walks out, her hair back to her normal afro. She's wearing sweats and a tight long sleeved shirt, "Okay so Cheyenne did close combat and weapons training yes?" She starts to pool the lava around her hands and shapes out to large round balls, "lets do weight training today!"</p>
<p>"Will this in any shape or form allow Blaine to wail on me with no remorse?"</p>
<p>"Nope, no combat today, today is about stamina!"</p>
<p>"Under normal circumstances I have a lot of stamina but Cheyenne really worked us to the bone yesterday."</p>
<p>"And that's why we train!"</p>
<p>Mikki grabs the jug of chocolate milk from the fridge and walks to Aiko's room, she knocks and waits for him to say it's okay to come in.</p>
<p>Aiko is sitting at his desk writing something, she places the jug next to him along with a glass, "Whatcha doin 'buddy?"</p>
<p>"Writing a letter to my brother, don't worry I'm not actually going to send it though."</p>
<p>"Your brother? Isn't he a pro hero, he works with that guy, um," she picks up the Mr. Magma plushie on his bed, "He works with this guy right?"</p>
<p>"Yeah."</p>
<p>"Do you miss him?"</p>
<p>"I do, but I don't wanna burden him. I'd just get sent back to my dad, and then Wayward could be in danger." Mikki sits on the bed, Aiko puts his pencil down, "Does it make me a hypocrite to hate heroes but support my brother? I know he's one of the good ones, he'd never stand by and watch someone get hurt."</p>
<p>"I'm sure there are good heroes out there, once Ghost wins and they finally reform the hero commission heroes like your brother can finally shine."</p>
<p>"You think?"</p>
<p>"Ghost is only gonna dethrone all the bad heroes."</p>
<p>"Like Mr. Magma," Sapphire says, startling the two who didn't realize she was standing in the doorway.</p>
<p>Aiko almost looks offended, "What are you talking about?"</p>
<p>Mikki jumps up and tries to push Sapphire out of the room, "I'm sure we just misheard her!"</p>
<p>She drags Sapphire into her room and slams the door, Aiko, curious, follows them and puts his ear on the door to listen in.</p>
<p>"What the hell is wrong with you?"</p>
<p>"So we're just gonna stand there and let him idolize that monster?"</p>
<p>"Sapphire he's just a kid, his brother works for Magma just let him have this one thing!"</p>
<p>"I don't care if Neil works with him. He is a horrible hero and was an even worse father! He killed my mom Mikki, I think you can understand why I don't wanna pretend like he's a good guy, even in front of Aiko!"</p>
<p>"Aiko's dad may not have been a hero but he grew up how you did, how would you feel if you found out your hero was an abuser!"</p>
<p>"I did! His name is Endeavor!"</p>
<p>Sapphire opens the door, "I won't let anyone pretend my father was a decent person!" She looks down to see Aiko, tears begin to stream down his face. "Aiko i didnt-" he runs to his room and slams the door.</p>
<p>"As if he didn't have enough on his mind, thanks a lot Sapphire." Mikki walks past her, "I know how much Magma hurt you but you could have at least waited a little longer before you passed that pain to Aiko!"</p>
<p>"I'm not passing anything to Aiko! Magma is a monster."</p>
<p>Mikki takes Sapphire's hand, "I know, I'm sorry but you have to understand I just wanna protect my kids."</p>
<p>"The longer you waited the worse he would feel and you know it."</p>
<p>"I'm going to go talk to him," Sapphire doesn't let her go.</p>
<p>"Let me, I hate to be the one saying this but you coddling him is why he has so much trouble. You don't force him to do anything and his anxiety is only gonna get worse. He's sixteen Mikki, he may be your kid but he isn't a kid anymore."</p>
<p>"Aiko had such a rough upbringing, I just wanted him to have a safe place."</p>
<p>Sapphire hugs her, "You did such a good job, but you gotta let him grow up. Also he's lactose intolerant please stop giving him chocolate milk you're gonna kill him."</p>
<p>Mikki wipes the tears from her eyes, "Be gentle with him, please."</p>
<p>"I'll try," She said, lying. "Put some headphones on, listening in will only make you feel worse." Sapphire yells down the hallway, "Parker, make sure Mikki wears some headphones and don't let her take them off!"</p>
<p>"Roger!"</p>
<p>"Okay run along, I'm gonna go talk to him."</p>
<p>Sapphire goes to walk into Aiko's room but the door's locked, "Aiko open the door." He doesn't respond. She sighs and forces it open, the wood cracks under her strength. She closes the door back the best she can.</p>
<p>"Please leave me alone," Aiko pulls the blanket over his head.</p>
<p>"Nope, we are gonna work through this!" She picks Aiko up off the bed from behind. He starts wailing as he spikes out.</p>
<p>"NO! Let me go. I don't wanna hurt anyone else!"</p>
<p>The spikes aren't strong enough to pierce her skin he screams as tears over flow in his eyes. "It's not fair," he screams.</p>
<p>Sapphire tightens her grip, "I know! Life hurts, and it feels like at every turn it just kicks you down further. You know what this is kid? This is rock bottom! You had an abusive dad, your moms dead, you ran away and you keep hurting everyone around you! I get that!"</p>
<p>Aiko's spikes only get worse; a few even shoot out, one shattering the lamp. The only light in the room now being the dim fairy lights on the ceiling and the little light that escapes from behind the black curtains.</p>
<p>"The thing about rock bottom is it can't get worse, you know why?"</p>
<p>"LET ME GO!"</p>
<p>"It's solid ground! You gotta put that shovel down kid, you are in control of your own life! You're dad can't hurt you anymore, stop acting like he can! You're safe! And you're in control of your quirk!"</p>
<p>"I'M NOT!"</p>
<p>"We can't let people like our parents hold us back! You are your own person!"</p>
<p>Aiko's spikes begin to appear less rapidly, "I can't take this anymore."</p>
<p>"What are you going to do?" she drops him on the floor, "You think life will only get worse, you ganna kill yourself? You're gonna leave Hikaru and Mikki and everyone else to be without you?"</p>
<p>He wipes his tears, "N- no."</p>
<p>"Then you need to get a hold of yourself," she picks up the judge of chocolate milk, opens the window, and throws it into the alleyway. "If you choose to ignore your problems they'll only get worse. You wanna keep hurting people?"</p>
<p>"No..." his spikes grow smaller and smaller until they disappear.</p>
<p>"Then it's time to grow up. Learn how to control your quirk."</p>
<p>"What if I just end up like my dad?"</p>
<p>"You probably will, unless you make an effort not to be. The fact it scares you proves you're already headed the right way. Now pick yourself up, go wash your face."</p>
<p>Aiko stands up and hugs Sapphire, "I'm sorry."</p>
<p>She pats him on his head, "You can be whoever it is you need to be, just stop shoving everyone out. It's okay to need help."</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0015"><h2>15. Down By The Tracks</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Clara sneezed as they stood in the snow, it wasn't too deep but it came up half way on her boots. She rubbed her hands together as the three made a nice pile of snowballs. Once they had a decent stack she took a moment to focus on activating her quirk. Like before her hair begins to float and sway. The air around her almost distorted and became visible as the two vortexes appeared in front and behind her.</p>
<p>"Once upon a time," Ghost says as she activates her quirk.</p>
<p>Hikaru picks up a snowball and sighs, "It's so weird hearing your voice outside of rallies."</p>
<p>"Is that an insult?"</p>
<p>"Might as well be," she throws the snowball at clara. It worked exactly like last time, it enters the vortex and is shot out after a few seconds at a higher velocity.</p>
<p>"Okay Hikaru stand with Clara. You two are in a fight. Clara is on the defense hikaru you attack, you need to work with each other's strengths!" Ghost makes a mini snowman out of a few of the snowballs and places it on the ground behind her. "Your goal is to get past me and rescue the little dude."</p>
<p>Hikaru whispers something into Clara's ear and they nod at each other. Ghost picks up a few snowballs and throws them at the girls, however when they go into the first vortex before they can exit Clara turns around so it shoots back.</p>
<p>Ghost ducks behind the cosmic book, "very resourceful!" However when she removes the book to return to its normal position Hikaru had already made her way up to her, activates her quick and blinds Ghost with a flash bomb. As she reels back, Clara snags the little snowman.</p>
<p>"I got em!" Clara shouts.</p>
<p>Hikaru, distracted thinking they've won the game, is startled when Ghost scoops her up and tosses her over her shoulder.</p>
<p>"As smart as that move was, never assume you've defeated an opponent! Even if they are on the ground unconscious, make an effort to tie them up or make sure they can't get up." she tosses Hikaru into the snow, "break their legs if you have to."</p>
<p>"Couldn't we just kill them?"</p>
<p>"You gotta play the long game, they might have intel, or you can use them as a hostage."</p>
<p>Clara leans down to help her stand, "that sounds a little excessive..."</p>
<p>"If a hero is attacking two young girls, trust me, they deserve it."</p>
<p>"Yeah Clara, we gotta be more alert, but like, didnt you, you know," she waves her hands around vaguely, "fetus deletus two guys in an alleyway?"</p>
<p>"Please don't ever refer to it like that again."</p>
<p>"You know what i mean," she crosses her arms.</p>
<p>"But it's not like i did it on purpose, if it came down to it... i don't know if i have what it takes to actually hurt someone."</p>
<p>Ghost places a hand on each of their shoulders, "well if you can't you'll probably die before any of us can get to you."</p>
<p>"Wow Ghost, such encouraging words," she pushes Ghost's arm off her shoulder. "Don't worry Clara, if we ever do get in trouble I'll protect us."</p>
<p>"Maybe we should test how much Clara can handle." </p>
<p>"What do you mean?"</p>
<p>"It's good to know your limits so you don't overstep. See how large you can make your vortex."</p>
<p>Hikaru kicks some of the snow out of the way making a little divit and sits in it.</p>
<p>"Okay Clara, I want you to stretch it as far as you can, while you do that I'm going to throw things at you."</p>
<p>She takes a deep breath, it expands very slowly, periodically Ghost will throw a snowball in. as the vortex gets larger it takes longer to spit out the other side but once it does shoot out it's about ten times faster for every foot of growth. When it is about double claras height it begins to glitch and fizzle out. Ghost throws in another snowball but it doesn't come out one. The vortex behind her spits out water, she looks down at Hikaru. "Make a mental note that the bigger the vortex the hotter it gets. Keep going Clara!"</p>
<p>Clara can feel her knees begin to shake as it becomes the height of an average one story building. Again Ghost throws in another snowball, this time out the other portal mist shoots out. "Fascinating."</p>
<p>She begins to struggle to make it grow, it inches wider at a snail's pace. Ghost can feel a slight pull toward clara. She can feel the surrounding air get pulled into the vortex, "Clara i think that's enough!"</p>
<p>As the wind picks up speed being sucked into the vortex, Clara can no longer hear Ghosts shouts. She slams her cosmic book into the ground in front of her to anchor her in place. The wind almost grabs hold of Hikaru but Ghost grabs her by the ankle and drags her behind the book.</p>
<p>"CLARA!" she shouts in an attempt to break through the wind. "Clara collapses." The second the words leave Ghost's mouth, Clara falls to her knees and the vortex folds in on itself until it completely vanishes.</p>
<p>"Your experimentation is gonna get us killed"</p>
<p>"I had everything under control," Ghost stands and the book floats back into its idle position. "That was great Clara!"</p>
<p>Panting on the ground she raises her arm giving them a thumbs up. "I, I need a break," she falls on to her back into the snow.</p>
<p>"Sense Clara is attempting to regain her will to live, what do you want me to do?"</p>
<p>"Well, you are pretty good in close combat and you have a very good handle on your quirk."</p>
<p>"Thank you."</p>
<p>Ghost picks up a clump of snow and throws it at Hikaru, it splatters on her face, "But you have horrible reaction time."</p>
<p>She wipes the snow off, "I wasn't ready, that doesn't count."</p>
<p>"You never know when someone will attack so you always have to be ready. You have amazing hearing, use it." Ghost pulls Hikaru's sweatband down to cover her eyes. "Really focus on the sounds around you."</p>
<p>Hikaru sighs as Ghost begins to walk around her, "what's the point of this?"</p>
<p>"Just focus, what do you hear?"</p>
<p>Hikaru's ears twitch slightly, "the snow, it crunches a lot when you walk. I can hear Clara dying over there," she points vaguely in Clara's direction. Ghost stops walking, very carefully she reaches down and scoop's up some snow and throws it at Hikaru. In that moment she could hear Ghost's jacket move suddenly and ducks on pure instinct.</p>
<p>"See, paying attention is important!"</p>
<p>Hikaru goes to lift up her sweatband, "wait you actually threw something at me?"</p>
<p>Ghost nods, "no peeking," Hikaru quickly pulls the sweatband back over her eyes. "Now i want you to tell me," she picks up some snow, "which side I throw this to."</p>
<p>"Wait, from my point of view or yours? Cause if you throw right it's my left."</p>
<p>"Your point of view." she throws the snowball, Hikaru can feel the air as it flies by and can hear it hit the ground. "Left."</p>
<p>"Correct," Ghost throws another.</p>
<p>"Left." Ghost throws three very quickly, "Right, left, left."</p>
<p>"Very good, you picked that up very quickly, I'm proud."</p>
<p>Hikaru turns around, "there's a train coming." she pushes the sweatband back into her hair.</p>
<p>"Really? I can't even see it yet." Ghost looks at Clara, "I have an idea. Clara, do you think you have enough energy to make another vortex?"</p>
<p>She stands up and dusts off the snow, "not one too big, why?"</p>
<p>Ghost waves for the girls to follow her as she walks toward the tracks, you can begin to faintly hear the train horn in the distance.</p>
<p>"Uh, Ghost, why are we walking to the tracks. Heh hehh, the uh, the train will be here soon."</p>
<p>Ghost walks up the little hill and reaches down to help the girls get up onto the tracks without slipping. Hikaru can start to see the train. Ghost places her hands on Clara's shoulder and positions her infront of them. "Okay make another vortex, make sure it's big enough for the whole train to pass through but not too big that it melts the cars."</p>
<p>Clara suddenly finds it very hard to swallow, she looks at Ghost. "I dont know about this."</p>
<p>"Yeah! One wrong move and we all get squished, or worse, we kill everyone on that train!"</p>
<p>Ghost makes Clara face forward, "take a deep breath."</p>
<p>Hikaru grabs hold of Ghost's arm and tugs on her. "No fuck this! Someones gonna get hurt, like bad!"</p>
<p>"Take a deep breath and activate your quirk."</p>
<p>As the train races forward it begins to blare its horn, no doubt at that distance the conductor can see them. It's going at a pace that would make it impossible to stop in time. The constant horn is the conductor's desperate attempt to save their lives.</p>
<p>Clara's hair begins to float as she attempts to summon the vortex but she's struggling, it keeps fading in and out. "Ghost i don't think i can do it," she looks up in a panic to see the train only get closer, she can barely hear anything but the horn. "Let's get down before we get hurt." as she goes to step down, Ghost grabs her arm.</p>
<p>"Clara, treat this like a real thing, imagine you're stuck on the tracks, we're all stuck, if you don't save us we'll die."</p>
<p>"But we're not stuck!" Hikaru shouts.</p>
<p>Clara stares at the train as if she's staring down the barrel of a gun. she clenches her hands as if it's going to help. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>"Clara, it's now or never!"</p>
<p>As the train is mere moments ahead of them, hikaru jumps off the tracks and slams into the snow below. Clara raises her arms as if braising for impact; she doesn't even look forward. But after a few seconds she realizes nothing happened. When she opens her eyes she can see the inside of the train as if it had no front. The image before her distorted through the lense of the vortex, she turns around and can see the rest of the train passing through it as if nothing odd is happening.</p>
<p>Hikaru looks up expecting to see blood stained snow but instead sees the two standing unharmed between two portals and the blurred image of each side of the train speeding through. A wide smile spreads across claras face as she begins to laugh, whether it is excitement or the product of nervousness is unclear. She's snapped back into reality when she sees the vortex is slowly shrinking under the pressure.</p>
<p>"I don't think i have enough energy to keep it open!"</p>
<p>Ghost scoops clara up like a princess and jumps off the train tracks, when they hit the ground her vortexes collapse. The train continues to pass by as if nothing had happened.</p>
<p>Before Ghost can even say anything, Hikaru punches her in the stomach so hard she falls to her knees and unknowingly deactivates her quirk. The cosmic book vanishes within seconds. "What the hell is wrong with you Ghost!"</p>
<p>She falls onto her side, Hikaru goes to kick her while she's down but Clara grabs her. "Stop!"</p>
<p>"You could of gotten us killed!, what the fuck is wrong with you! I get that you want us to be strong but we're just kids! We should fucking around or maybe playing in the snow not risking our lives for what? To test our limits?"</p>
<p>"Hikaru calm down, it's okay! Im fine, i did it!"</p>
<p>"Then why are you shaking?"</p>
<p>Tears well up in her eyes, "I did it though, it was just a test. We weren't in any real danger."</p>
<p>Hikaru pokes Ghost with her foot, "get up, take us home." Ghost lays there for a few more seconds struggling to regain the will to live.</p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<p>The Actress, one of the pro heroes on Magma's task force walks into his office. "We just got a tip, might be our girl." she places a report on his desk, he doesn't look at it. She sighs, "a train conductor, he reported that he saw three people on the tracks. Two young girls and an older woman who had a giant floating book behind her."</p>
<p>The mention of the cosmic book catches his attention and he looks up from the computer, "Oh?"</p>
<p>"Yep, said he was afraid he was gonna kill them but right before he hit them he saw a flash of white light, said his body felt numb, and then it stopped. Didn't notice anything other than that and didn't even feel a bump. And when he stopped not a single drop of blood on the car. Doesn't know what happened."</p>
<p>"Do you think this is one of Ghost Writers abilities?"</p>
<p>"No, out of everything we've observed i dont think she's capable of doing whatever the hell happened. Must've been one of the girls."</p>
<p>"Why would a wanted criminal be out in the open with two tennagers?"</p>
<p>"New recruits maybe?"</p>
<p>Magma leans back in his chair, "No I doubt it." he takes a moment to think, "yeah no, there's no way they could be recruits, they despise UA because they think it promotes child soldiers. They wouldn't recruit two kids no matter how desperate they were."</p>
<p>"What other explanation could it be?"</p>
<p>"They have to be close to Ghost Writer, you said there was a flash of light? So they are in the middle of nowhere using their quirks. Could they be training?"</p>
<p>"Training? For what?"</p>
<p>"Maybe for nothing, maybe Writer is afraid she can't protect them!"</p>
<p>Actress looks up, "You don't think?"</p>
<p>An almost cruel smile grows across magma's face, "So the notorious Ghost Writer has a weakness. Interesting."</p>
<p>"What's our next move then sir?"</p>
<p>"Send Mimic out, tell her i want her to simply observe. I want as much intel on those two girls as you can find and i want it ASAP."</p>
<p>As actress exits the room she passes Ms. Sadness, Magma's wife. Sadness walks into the office and closes the door. "You wanted to see me?"</p>
<p>"How is your mission going? Have all the heroes responded to the invitations?"</p>
<p>She nods, "almost all, i'm still waiting on a response from some of the top heros."</p>
<p>"Has anyone declined?"</p>
<p>"Yes a few have, Endeavor did not want to engage in such a, and i quote, 'ridiculous plan.'"</p>
<p>"As expected, anyone else?"</p>
<p>"Almight does not wish to be a part of this mission, with his recent condition he fears he would only be a liability."</p>
<p>Magma's eye twitches, "does he realize this entire mission depends on his presence?"</p>
<p>"I'm sure he does, but at times like this we must remember he's retired, if he doesn't wish to take part we should respect his-" Magma slams his hand on the table silencing Sadness.</p>
<p>"Convince him! I don't care if he has the flu, I need him at that party. And reassure him that he will have two escorts there to make sure nothing happens."</p>
<p>Sadness nods, "yes sir." She goes to leave the room but Magma stands up and stops her.</p>
<p>"Sadness," he pauses, "Zarya." He places his hand on her cheek, "I'm sorry for shouting, but you have to remember this mission, this job, it's all very stressful. So please my darling." he kisses her gently, "Stop coming to me with bad news. You know how much I hate burning your pretty face."</p>
<p>"I'm sorry my love."</p>
<p>He kisses her again, "Now leave, before your presence angers me."</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0016"><h2>16. Can't Breath</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Max sits near the back of the storage room she's been crying for sometime now. After her encounter with Mr. Magma she hasn't stopped shaking. Neil has been sitting with her the whole time, he won't stop apologizing. Though Max completely healed herself somehow she can still feel the lava on her skin. Every now and then Neil activates his quirk and gives her a hand full of his foam it gives her some sense of relief.</p>
<p>"I'm so sorry, i'm so sorry im-"</p>
<p>"Stop fucking apoloizing!" she wipes the foam on her face and flings it on the floor, "I'm okay, i'm okay."</p>
<p>He takes a deep breath, "it's a habit..."</p>
<p>"Was he always like this?"</p>
<p>"For as long as i've worked here he has, some of the superiors say he was a lot more stable before his wife died. Now he's just a monster."</p>
<p>She rubs her cheek, "So this happens often?"</p>
<p>"He usually only attacks me or Ms. Sadness," he rolls up his sleeves to reveal hundreds of burn marks. "You know the on center doctor, she can heal any burn, even remove the scar but I never let her. Just enough so it's healed, I want to see the scars."</p>
<p>"Why?"</p>
<p>"It's the only proof i'll ever have." He pulls his sleeve down, "I got a job here four years ago. I thought my purpose would be saving people, however it turns out my purpose is taking Magma down. I know everyone thinks i'm a coward but sometimes you have to endure things. God, every time he lays a finger on Sadness I think I'm going to explode."</p>
<p>"I miss judged you Neil, you play your lackey role too well." She stands up and holds out her hand, "When you're ready to take on Magma I'll be there."</p>
<p>He takes her hand and stands up, "Thank you, i've actually been thinking about using this Ghost Writer incident to my advantage. She's drumming up a lot of public outcry. Suddenly everyones a little more aware of what heroes are really like."</p>
<p>"Aren't you afraid of associating yourself with her?"</p>
<p>"If i'm being honest, she's doing what we're too afraid to do. The public execution thing is going a little far but after her capture we can use her movements momentum and push for a reform. Writer will be behind bars and we can fix everything the right way"</p>
<p>"Won't the commission push for the death penalty?"</p>
<p>"I don't think they'd risk turning her into a martyr. Plus with her quirk they'd probably offer her a plea deal."</p>
<p>Max rubs the back of her neck,"You've really thought about this."</p>
<p>"I'm playing the long game here."</p>
<p>"You have my support."</p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<p>Ghost opens the door and starts stripping off some of the layers, Hikaru and Clara do the same.</p>
<p>Blaine and Axel are standing in the living room in a wide stance while each holding a very large heavy lava rock. Mikki pokes her head out of the kitchen, "You guys are back early, get too cold?" she takes off her apron. "I can make some hot chocolate?"</p>
<p>Sapphire takes the two rocks from Blaine and Axel, she melts them down and absorbs the lava, "Do we all get hot chocolate?" </p>
<p>"Yeah sure. Clara, Hikaru, hot chocolate?" they don't answer, she walks out of the kitchen she crosses her arms. "What's wrong?"</p>
<p>"Ghost forced Clara to stand in front of a moving train nearly killing us."</p>
<p>Mikki walks back into the kitchen and comes back out with a wooden spoon. Ghost aggressively starts to sign, "Mikki, I can explain! I had everything under," she begins to repeatedly hit Ghost with the spoon. At this rate Ghost's nose will never heal. No one helps her, Sapphire laughs.</p>
<p>Hikaru chuckles, having her revenge being fulfilled she picks up her shedded layers and drops them in the laundry room. Aiko is blasting music, she ignores it as she goes to walk into her room. However she notices Aiko's door frame is busted, she pushes it open. "Dude what happened to your," she steps on a piece of glass and yelps. "Why the fuck is there glass on the floor?" She looks up to see the walls covered in spikes and aiko laying on his bed hyperventilating. She immediately starts rummaging through his desk. "Aiko, where's your inhaler?!"</p>
<p>He's far too light headed to respond or even turn around to point at his dresser. Hikaru tears apart his desk, and looks under his bed, she keeps stepping on glass but ignores it. She spots the inhaler in his top dresser drawer. She rushes over to him and forces him to sit up straight, she helps him take a few pumps before he's regained enough energy to do it himself.</p>
<p>"Are you okay? What happened?"</p>
<p>He tries to catch his breath, "some stuff, Sapphire kinda shook me up, put on loud music, no one could hear me dying." He wipes some tears off his face.</p>
<p>Hikaru gets up being more careful not to step on the glass, "I'm gonna get a broom." When she walks into the living room ghost is now on the floor, Mikki still hitting her, Clara is trying to stop the chaos. She grabs the broom from the closet and walks back to Aiko's room.</p>
<p>"Stop, i'll clean it up."</p>
<p>"No you won't, I bet if I looked under your bed I'd find the broken remains of that bowl you dropped six months ago."</p>
<p>Aiko sighs, "yeah probably," he starts to pull some of the spikes out of the wall as she sweeps up the glass.</p>
<p>Hikaru sticks her head out the door, "Clara can you grab me a trash bag?" she shouts.</p>
<p>She gives up on trying to stop mikki and goes into the kitchen and grabs one for Hikaru. She walks into Aiko's room, "Why do you need a tra- holy shit what happened?" Aiko growns in response. She sits on the bed, "Do you wanna talk about it?"</p>
<p>Aiko doesn't respond, he simply continues to pull out spikes.</p>
<p>"You know I used to struggle a lot with severe anxiety, I still do actually but my sister helped me a lot with working through it. Would you like advice, comfort, a distraction, or alone time?"</p>
<p>Aiko sits down, "I don't really wanna be alone right now..."</p>
<p>"Okay, after we clean up, what would you like to do?" Clara's tone is very calm; she wears a sweet smile like a hero's cape.</p>
<p>"Will you guys just sit with me for a little while?"</p>
<p>Hikaru dumps the dustpan into the trash bag, "Wanna watch a movie or just vibe?"</p>
<p>"A movie would be nice."</p>
<p>Hikaru leaves and comes back with some kiddy Christmas movie, the three crawl into Aiko's bed and start watching. Momo pokes her head in the door, she stands there with her hand on Lieutenant's neck. "Can I watch too?"</p>
<p>Aiko takes a deep breath and nods, he can't shun everyone anymore. "Yeah come on Momo." Momo gets into the bed and sits between Aiko and Hikaru. Lieutenant jumps up and lays down at the end of the bed.</p>
<p>"Hey there's hot chocolate," Blaine says walking into the room, they gasp, "Are you having a movie night without me?" Before Aiko even has a chance to offer, Blaine jumps into the bed and snuggles up close to Clara. "AXEL COME JOIN US IT'S MOVIE NIGHT!"</p>
<p>After about a minute Axel walks in with another blanket and crawls into Aiko's bed too, they lay on their stomach using Lieutenant as a pillow, it's a miracle they all fit into the one bed.</p>
<p>Mikki walks in with a tray of hot chocolate, she sets it on Aiko's desk, "no one move!" she leaves the room and walks back in with her polaroid camera and takes a photo of everyone and walks away with a smile on her face</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Parker Sapphire and Ghost sit at the dining room table, Parker sips her hot chocolate as the bee drone flies around the room. "I think it's ready."</p>
<p>Mikki pins the photo to the wall right in the center, "does that mean? you're ready to proceed with the mission?"</p>
<p>"Yep," she boops the drone, "not as high tech as my previous drones but she'll get the job done. Her range isn't too far so i will have to be close by. Lucky I've given her a little virus to spread."</p>
<p>"A virus?"</p>
<p>"Yep, we're gonna go into the city, infect all the high tech billboards and leave, the virus will activate in about a day or so. It will project a video we previously recorded."</p>
<p>Sapphire looks up, "I think we should send the kids away." </p>
<p>"No!"</p>
<p>"Not by themselves! Ghost do you think your moms would take them in?"</p>
<p>"I can ask," she signs.</p>
<p>"No! Wayward is my home, we're staying here. All of us, I know you wouldn't let anything happen to us. Plus Christmas is coming up, that's when the rest of the family comes to visit. Drop off toys, visit Mom's grave. Mom helped raise a lot of kids, so did Grandma. Wayward is a staple in our community."</p>
<p>Sapphire places her hand on Mikki's, "Are you sure?"</p>
<p>"Im positive. Ghost you can continue to train the kids, under Sapphire's supervision since somebody doesn't have common sense."</p>
<p>"I'm okay with that, I'd like to work with Aiko a bit more, we'll continue to go out everyday until we have a concrete mission in the works."</p>
<p>Parker turns to Mikki, "sense i'm still wanted i'm gonna need to blend in and look the least suspicious. Wanna pretend to be my wife and go 'christmas shopping' tomorrow?" She uses air quotes as she speaks.</p>
<p>"Sure, we can head out after I close the cafe."</p>
<p>"Perfect, less people will notice the bee during the evening anyway."</p>
<p>"Sounds like a plan!"</p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<p>Mimic had been waiting since before dawn, she was tasked with gathering intel. they drove a beat up truck down to the tracks as to blend in more with the other random abandoned cars. From the outside it was just another rust bucket with tinted windows but on the inside sat Mimic freezing their ass off. On the dashboard sat a high tech camera with an incredible zoom. At about ten in the morning a car pulled in.</p>
<p>"Bingo." they picks up the camera and turn it on. Ghost steps out of the car, they snap a photo. A woman wearing not nearly enough layers for the amount of snow hops out, they snap a photo. The two teenage girls step out, and to Mimic's surprise a teenage boy as well, they snap a photo.</p>
<p>Mimic pulls out their notpad and begins to take notes while observing and taking photos.</p>
<p>Ghost Writer is capable of manipulating the cosmic book's position</p>
<p>I think the other woman has a quirk that has something to do with heat?  lava quirk!</p>
<p>Cat girl: just a cat quirk. No- Light quirk.</p>
<p>Girl with white hair: can manipulate portals?</p>
<p>Boy has spikes, constantly looks nervous</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Mimic took hundreds of photos, it confirmed the theory that Ghost Writer is in fact training them. they watched as Writer showed the white haired girl proper stances. The cat girl seemed to be focused on her reflexes, she was blind folded as the other woman helped the boy aim and shoot his spikes at the young girl. She was able to dodge all of them. Mimic wrote into their notes that the boy was very hesitant and that the cat girl moved with precision and confidence. The white haired girl seemed very dependent on the adults around her.</p>
<p>After about five hours they got into the car and left, unfortunately Mimic couldn't follow them without revealing themself so they simply sat there for another hour to make sure there was no chance anyone saw them. When Mimic arrived back at HIA headquarters they went straight to the photo room. They gave the man behind the desk the camera's SD card and waited as he printed everything out. After quite some time the man handed Mimic a large folder and they walked them personally to Magma.</p>
<p>When mimic walked in he was at his desk drinking coffee, "Oh Mimic! Tell me you bring good news!"</p>
<p>"I do!" they set the folder in front of Magma, "I think I learned more than enough but I can and will go back to observe more!"</p>
<p>"That's what I like to hear," as he opens the folder his heart drops. "Oh no." Magma unfortunately recognized more than just Writer's face, he flipped through the many photos and was sure of it. Not only was his only daughter in those photos, but he recognized the boy. "Stay here." Mimic looks confused as Magma stands up and walks out of his office and up to Neil's desk.</p>
<p>"Yes sir?"</p>
<p>Magma stares at the photo on Neil's desk. It's a few years old but it shows Neil with a young boy on his shoulders. The boy in the photo on Neil's desk and the one in Mimic's photos had the same face, he was sure of it. Magma couldn't remember the boy's name but he had heard Neil talk about how his little brother ran away a few years back and has been missing sense.</p>
<p>"Could you get me another cup of coffee?"</p>
<p>"You didn't need to walk out here just to ask."</p>
<p>"I needed to stretch my legs. Anyway make sure it's a fresh pot and knock before you come in. I'm having an important meeting."</p>
<p>"Very well sir," he stands up, "I'll get right on it."</p>
<p>Magma walks back into his office, "Have my assistant set up a reach out deal with the local rescue heroes."</p>
<p>"May I ask why?"</p>
<p>He leans on the front of his desk and picks up one of the photos, "Because that's Neil's missing brother."</p>
<p>Mimic takes the photo, "Are you sure?"</p>
<p>"Positive, if Neil sees this he'll lose sight of our objective. Give him to the rescue heroes so he's distracted and therefore can't compromise the mission."</p>
<p>"Understood."</p>
<p>Magma picks up one of the photos with Sapphire in it, "Neil isn't the only one who will be getting a family reunion." He reaches into his suit and pulls out a chain necklace, dangling on it is a gold wedding ring. "I'm not surprised she's working with Writer, I always knew she'd be back for revenge."</p>
<p>"Sir?"</p>
<p>He drops the necklace and lets it hang on his neck in the open for the first time since his first wife died, "Nothing, tomorrow i want you to go back, see if you can get closer. Maybe have one of your Mimics follow them. But don't engage, that's an order."</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0017"><h2>17. Stardust</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>The city at night is always breathtaking during the holidays. Multicolored lights reflected on store fronts and the snow glinted in the moonlight. The enormous tree in the city center was decorated in hundreds of handcrafted ornaments with a dazzling Allmight tree-topper. The streets were filled with last minute holiday shoppers. Mikki walked down the street with Momo in her arms, beside her was Parker. She was wearing a shoulder length wig that was a deep brown color with red tips. They were both wearing Christmas hats.</p>
<p>Parker blew air into her cold hands, they walk into a pawn shop. Mikki knew this was an actual mission but Parker wanted to blend in, shopping helps you blend. She stays close to the entrance fearful she could disconnect from her drone, Mikki hands her Momo before going to talk to the clerk.</p>
<p>She smiles wildly, "Hi, quick question. I wanted to get my eldest daughter something she's wanted for a little while but all the brand new ones are a tad expensive. Please tell me you have a camcorder in stock?"</p>
<p>The man smiles and walks to the glass cases, "I actually have a few to choose from!" He pulls out four different models of camcorder and the two talk back and forth on the pros and cons of each device.</p>
<p>Parker's bee drone is flying from billboard to billboard. It connects uploads and moves on, it takes about six minutes to infect each one, the virus will activate the following day. By the time Mikki has purchased her gift for Hikaru all the billboards have been infected.</p>
<p>Parker smiles at Mikki, "Are you ready to go home darling?" she takes her hand.</p>
<p>"Yeah I got everything I need. Should I call a cab?"</p>
<p>"I'd like to walk if that's okay." Parker's drone could never keep up with a car, especially with the amount of wind. As they walk down the busy street they notice people starting to gather around the tree, they assume they must be carolers or something. As they got closer Parker realized who they really were. They all were wearing teeth masks, like the ones they tossed out for Allmight Square mission.</p>
<p>One of the people took off their mask and pulled out a mega phone. Their skin was such a deep blue it looked as if it was made of midnight sky, they were covered in glowing specks like paint splatter stars, and three eyes that shined like moons. "You can call me Nihil, my real name does not matter!" they shout through the mega phone. Everyone in the surrounding area stops in their tracks.</p>
<p>Parker clentches Mikkis hand, they have to blend in no matter what, if those followers recognise Parker's face it could be bad. Like everyone else they freeze, Parker lifts up her scarf to cover more of her face.</p>
<p>"I am sure most of you recognise the masks on the men behind me but don't be afraid! We are humble followers of the prophet Ghost Writer!"</p>
<p>Parker can hear people behind her mumbling about calling the heroes, "This is bad." As the crowd pushes forward Mikki and Parker get swept up.</p>
<p>"As we speak our leader is planning to rise out of the shadows once again, though forced into hiding we will prevail over the heroes who wish to silence us!" The two men behind Nihil pull out a large cloth scroll from a duffel bag. They throw it into the air where it floats suspended unfazed by even the wind. It is shaped like the Cosmic book but 10 times larger. The pages read the following; 'For too long have we allowed heroes to dominate our society. It's hard enough dealing with their cockyness, their need for fame, their recklessness, idiocy, violence and the blatant propaganda but they didn't stop there. For years UA has been training child soldiers and sending them to war!'</p>
<p>Parker knew that speech, she helped Ghost write it for one of the rallies. Mikki looks at Parker with concern, "Should we?" She whispers but Parker simply shakes her head. Most of the crowd is shouting at the followers, some agreeing in cheers others booing in response.</p>
<p>"We will not be ignored," Nihil shouts.</p>
<p>"AHAV," the men shout.</p>
<p>"We will not be silenced!"</p>
<p>"AHAV!"</p>
<p>"We demand justice for the immortal victims!"</p>
<p>"AHAV," slowly the crowd joins in.</p>
<p>"We will avenge the fallen!"</p>
<p>"AHAV!"</p>
<p>The roaring crowd is starting to frighten little Momo, Parker clentches her tightly. "We need to get out of here." Together they start to push through the crowd.</p>
<p>"I lost my little brother, who have the heroes stolen from you?"</p>
<p>One of the men behind her shouts the name of his daughter, the other shouts the name of his Brother.</p>
<p>The crowd is silent until the voice of a little boy cuts through the air, "MY MOMMY," he screams. Suddenly the crowd breaks out in cries as they yell the names of the fallen.</p>
<p>Parker struggles to push through the people as they all move closer together, she's pushed into a large man, "I'm sorry, I just need to get by."</p>
<p>He turns around, quite the beast, looks as though he was a minotaur who stepped from a mythology book, "What's wrong Momma, you look scared."</p>
<p>Parker has always been a good actor but for once her nervousness was real, "I can't get through! When the heroes show up people will start to panic and I don't want my baby to get hurt!"</p>
<p>The man nods and does his best to push through the crowd to guide them out. Parker's guard was raised, she paid close attention to her surroundings both with her eyes and the drone above. She could see a few heroes pushing their way forward to Nihil.</p>
<p>"Heroes are nothing more than power hungry monsters who use their unrivaled strength to hold us down! Have you ever wondered why it is illegal to use your quirk in self defence? It is not because we are dangerous it is because we are strong! If we are capable of protecting ourselves we won't need heroes anymore! They want us to remain weak and docile so they can do as they please but no more!"</p>
<p>One of the heroes finally makes his way to the front and addresses the people, "That's enough, disperse immediately or there will be consequences!"</p>
<p>Nihil lifts up their megaphone into the hero's face, "We are on public property as a member of the public we have a right to be here!"</p>
<p>A winged hero snatches the floating banner out of the sky, as more heroes make it to the front. The hero in front of Nihil grabs the megaphone out of their hand and uses it. "Disperse immediately or there will be consequences!"</p>
<p>The crowd begins shouting in disgust. Nehil and the men behind them raise their hands to the sky, "I will listen to no man when the voices of the gods are beside me!"</p>
<p>The hero furrows his brow as he drops the meagphone and crushes it beneath his boot, "Have it your way then." He raises his hand up with his pointer and middle fingers extended, he draws a horizontal line in the sky.</p>
<p>Within an instant two sleeper darts slice through the air, each hitting one of the two men behind Nihil. Before they can react, the men collapse. The hero grabs Nihil by the arm, "You are under arrest for aiding and abetting the wanted criminal Ghost Writer along with trying to incite a riot."</p>
<p>As the men were darted the crowd panics and began to run in all directions, heroes try to capture as many of the 'protesters' as they can. Nihil struggles to escape the hero's grip, "If you don't let go i'll make you regret it."</p>
<p>"What are you gonna do starlight, shine bright?" </p>
<p>"Do you know what Nihil means?" The hero doesn't respond as he pushes them to the ground. "Well you're about to find out!"</p>
<p>All of Nihil's eyes go blank as if turned into an empty chasm, her paint splatter freckles vanish and it seems as if her midnight skin grows darker. He loosens his grip thinking he's killed them but the sudden loss in gravity causes him to look up. Above his head in a large black hole, everything not bolted to the ground starts to float, well everything except Nihil. Her voice echoes in the air as if three of them speak at once. "I tried to warn you."</p>
<p>The winged hero drops the stolen banner and flies toward the black hole in an attempt to rescue the heroes being sucked in but in an unfortunate turn of events they are the first to vanish into the great nothingness. One of the heroes tries to shoot them with one of the sleeper darts in the hopes their quirk will deactivate. With a clear shot they pull the trigger, it flies through the air dead set to strike Nihil in the middle of their neck but unfortunately gets sucked in by the black hole's gravitational pull.</p>
<p>One of the heroes has a chain quirk, he wraps them around his waist and shoots them into the ground. He extends his arms out and shoots two chains from the palms of his hands, they wrap around a handful of civilians anchoring them in place but he can feel the black hole's pull is strong. From the skin on his exposed shoulder blades he shoots more chains into the ground. He screams in pain at the sheer amount of strain on his body, he tries to pull the civilians closer to the ground. As more people, civilian and hero alike get swept up he cries out in the attempt to reach Nihil.</p>
<p>"For the gods' sake there are children here!"</p>
<p>She turns to the young chain hero and with her booming voice and extended arms she smiles, "And yet again another hero's foolishness endangers those around him."</p>
<p>He can feel the tears in his eyes but instead of falling they raise into the air, "Please," Nihil opens another black hole, much smaller than the first and directly under his feet the last thing he sees the fearful expression of the people he was holding.</p>
<p>"An eye for an eye will leave the world blind but atleast we won't have to witness the tragedy surrounding us."</p>
<p>The sudden words startled Nihil. They turned around suddenly to face the source but before they could even process what was happening the masked hero shot them between the eyes; Not with a sleeper dart but with a bullet. their white blood splattered on the fresh snow, it sparkled as much as her eyes did. As the black holes dissipated they spit out everyone that was swallowed. They fell into the snow covered in a thin layer of a black slime-like substance of unknown origin. They all began to cough up more of the slime.</p>
<p>The chain hero wiped and flung the slime off his face; he staggered toward the masked hero as he holstered their gun. "Y-you killed them."</p>
<p>"I was under the impression they had killed all these people," he gestures to the slime covered victims.</p>
<p>The hero's side kick rushes to his side, "Snipe sir! Well done."</p>
<p>"Hail a medevac team. I want everyone exposed with the black goo rounded up and quarantined till we find out what it is. Anyone expected of being affiliated with these three I want under constant watch."</p>
<p>The chain hero falls back and sits in the snow to await the doctors, "I thought I was dead for sure."</p>
<p>"Whats your name son?"</p>
<p>"HeavyMetal, sir."</p>
<p>"I'd shake your hand but it's best we wait for those tests, you did a mighty fine job savin those civilians."</p>
<p>"But I failed? They got absorbed."</p>
<p>"Did you not fight till the last second?"</p>
<p>"Yes sir."</p>
<p>"Then you did good kid, you did good."</p>
<p>As snipe walks away to secure the area Heavymetal looks around till he spots the winged hero, "Delta are you alright?"</p>
<p>She looks up and gives him a vague gesture until she attempts to stretch out her wings. They cry out in pain, "Nah, no, i think i broke one of my wings!"</p>
<p>HeavyMetal looks at the hero who first approached Nihil, "Why'd you have to crush the megaphone man?"</p>
<p>Laying in the snow on his back he flings some of the goo in his direction, "Fuck you Dean."</p>
<p>"Really Broden, first names? We're on the clock."</p>
<p>"There is black hole cum currently floating in my lungs, I'm not on shit."</p>
<p>Police and the medevac team arrived with haste and the entire plaza is closed off to the public as people in hazmat suits flood the area. Some have large vacuum tanks strapped to their backs to suck up the snow the goo may have come into contact with. They don't know if it's dangerous yet and they can risk the runoff taking it and contaminating the water supply.</p>
<p>Snipe oversees as Nihil's body is prepped for a hazardous body bag, "Do you think the commission will look poorly on this," his sidekick asks.</p>
<p>He takes a sleeper dart from the ammo box on his belt, he leans down and stabs it into Nihil's neck before they are moved to the body bag. "As you can see HeavyMetal couldn't deescalate the situation with words and my sleeper darts had no effect on the villain. We had no choice."</p>
<p>"Sir thats-"</p>
<p>He places his hand on the sidekick's shoulder, "best to leave it at that you hear?"</p>
<p>"Sir i took an oath of honesty, there's no need to lie over a simple."</p>
<p>He grabs them by their biceps and slams them into the side of an ambulance, "It's not the commission I'm worried about, it's the public. It's not enough anymore to lie to the masses, someone keeps leaking our reports. Do you wanna be the next hero who goes missing? Do you wanna be executed on stage like an animal?"</p>
<p>"N-no sir!"</p>
<p>"We're in scary times right now, would you rather I have not killed that villain? You'd rather me let all those people drown in that nothingness?" they didn't respond."The dart didn't work, end of story," he lets go of the young hero. "There's a lot more than public image on the line these days."</p>
<p>When everything was cleaned up the surrounding area remained closed, storefronts empty, the remaining Christmas lights unplugged, and the billboards shut off.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0018"><h2>18. Winter Butterflies</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Mikki Hikaru and Clara stand in the kitchen, they're all baking cookies and other sweets. Blaine Axel and Aiko are decorating the tree while Parker, Sapphire, and Ghost sit at the table. Ghost has a puzzled look on their face, "so the entire plaza has been evacuated and closed off?"</p>
<p>"Yep, not a soul, they won't even let the shop owners near it. Plus it looks as though the power was shut off on the whole street," Parker says while setting her mug down. "The mission was a total failure."</p>
<p>"Once the power's back will the video play when everythings turned on?"</p>
<p>"Probably, but who knows when it will be opened up. And on top of that they'll probably turn everything on before they let people in so the only ones who might see the video will be able to quickly remove it."</p>
<p>Ghost leans back in her chair, "this is very unfortunate."</p>
<p>Mikki places a baking tray of gingerbread on the table to cool, "That's enough mission talk for now, it's Christmas Eve you can worry about all that after the holiday." Ghost goes to sign something but Mikki places her hand on Ghost's, "it's okay to relax now and then."</p>
<p>Hikaru picks up Momo and boops her on the nose, "Yeah we all better do what Momma says or else Santa won't come!"</p>
<p>Blaine picks up another ornament to place on the tree, "He better come or else all my hard work will be wasted!"</p>
<p>Aiko plops down on the catch, "What work? I'm the one who had a nervous breakdown trying to untangle the lights and Axel was the one who brought out all the decorations!</p>
<p>"Axel doesn't count."</p>
<p>They pick up a candy cane to place on the tree, "what, why?"</p>
<p>"Because your jewish, this means nothing to you."</p>
<p>"That's not true, I'm happy to share in your traditions. You guys celebrate Hanukkah with me, you lit the candles with me and we baked sufganiyots and everything. If you can enjoy my holiday I'll partake in yours!" they place another ornament on the tree.</p>
<p>"How dare you combat me with my own love and respect for you."</p>
<p>Clara places a pan of brownies in the oven, "I feel like all these sweets are a tad much for us."</p>
<p>Hikaru's ears pop up as she turns to Clara, "These aren't for us, tomorrow we donate a lot of this to local homeless shelters."</p>
<p>"Really?"</p>
<p>"Yeah, I mean we keep a bit for ourselves, and a few for Santa, but the rest we give out. Me and Mom usually head out a little while after dinner."</p>
<p>"Can I come?"</p>
<p>"Please, the boxes get really heavy," Mikki responds while wiping her hands on her apron. "It's getting a little late though, Hikaru can you put Momo to bed?"</p>
<p>"Yeah sure," as Hikaru walks to Momo's room, Lieutenant follows behind. She helps Momo put on her pajamas, "You excited for Santa?"</p>
<p>"Mhm!"</p>
<p>"Whatcha ask for?"</p>
<p>Momo jumps up and down, "a fire truck!"</p>
<p>"Really? Why do you want a fire truck?"</p>
<p>Aiko steps in the doorway, "That's probably my fault, I told her a lot about my brother awhile ago"</p>
<p>Momo gets all excited and starts shouting, "Extingwish! Extingwish! Extingwish!"</p>
<p>"Wow you must really like him!" she turns to look at Aiko, "I'm sure he's a great hero."</p>
<p>He leans on the wall, "I hope so..."</p>
<p>Hikaru helps her into bed and tucks her in, "Sweet dreams Momo, remember the faster you get to bed the faster Santa can get here!" She turns off the light and leaves the room making sure she leaves the door cracked so a little of the hall light can shine into the room. Hikaru pats Aiko on the shoulder and walks back into the common room.</p>
<p>Axel is sitting on the sofa holding up a santa-shaped cookie, "I'm just saying you have to admit some fat white guy watching you all day, even when you sleep,is very creepy."</p>
<p>"I don't wanna hear it from you, your holiday traditions are baking food with weird names and playing with tops!"</p>
<p>"Its called a dreidel dumb dumb."</p>
<p>"SAME DIFFERENCE!"</p>
<p>Axel takes a bite off Santa's head, "Well at least I don't have to worry about Moses preying on kids."</p>
<p>Ghost puts on her shoes and a large coat, Clara watches as she walks out the room to leave, "Where's she going?"</p>
<p>Sapphire with a mouth full of cookies looks at Clara, "Probably going to visit her mom."</p>
<p>"Aren't they a little far away to leave at this hour?"</p>
<p>She swallows and wipes the crumbs off her face, "I mean her biological mom. She's buried in the Final Kay Tree Cemetery."</p>
<p>Clara yanks off her apron and grabs her coat, "ghost wait for me!" she yells rushing down the stairs.</p>
<p>Ghost stops and turns to her and signs, "Is something wrong"</p>
<p>"Sapphire said you were going to Final Kay Tree, my mom's buried there too. Can I come?"</p>
<p>ghost nods and opens the door, "it's only a few blocks so I was going to walk."</p>
<p>"I don't mind walking!"</p>
<p>The two walked together in total silence for a few blocks, it wasn't snowing but there was plenty on the ground. There weren't too many people out on the streets but now and then a car would pass them. When they saw that the cemetery was ahead Ghost makes Clara hold her hand as they cross the street.</p>
<p>Clara's mom's grave was closer to the front so they went there first. It was an Average headstone, it read "Here lies a loving mother, Charlie Rumiko" Ghost looks down at Clara and signs "take your time."</p>
<p>Clara kneels down in the snow in front of the grave, "I hope she's not mad at me. For for running away I mean. Dad wasn't the best after she died so maybe she'd understand and be happy that I'm safe."</p>
<p>She doesn't turn around to look so Ghost doesn't bother to sign a response; she simply stands there and listens so Clara can vent out her emotions.</p>
<p>"She's probably a little mad that I hurt my sister," She looks to the side and rubs her arms, "And I killed those men. But that was in self defence so maybe she'd understand that more." She pushes some of the snow off her grave to expose the grass, "You know, the older I get the harder it's getting to remember her face, I can't even remember what she sounded like."</p>
<p>Clara closes her eyes and places her hand on the ground, ghost steps next to her and kneels down.</p>
<p>Her hair begins to float slightly as she activates her quirk, "She died when I was maybe six, my sister took care of me for the most part. Every now and then she'd take me out to buy flowers to put on mom's grave." slowly a plant begins to poke its way through the ground, "We always bought purple tulips, they were her favorite." As the plant grows taller a few more sprouts poke out of the dirt and bloom into more than a dozen purple tulips. Clara opens her eyes and her hair falls back into alignment with gravity. Ghost places her hand on Clara's shoulder and smiles. </p>
<p>"I ran away because I couldn't control my quirk, I almost got the hang of it but I'm not ready to go home. I hope mom understands that," she looks at Ghost and smiles.</p>
<p>"Im sure there is nothing you could do that would disappoint her."</p>
<p>"I hope so, let's go visit your mom's grave. What was her favorite flower? I'd be happy to have some grow for her."</p>
<p>"My mom didn't care for flowers, she did like clovers though."</p>
<p>"I can try to make those!" Clara takes her hand as they walk toward the back of the cemetery however Ghost notices a person standing in front of the grave. As far as she could remember what little family remained on her mothers side did not live in the country nor would they care enough to visit. As they got closer it was clearly a tall man.</p>
<p>The crunch of snow under their feet caused the man to flinch; he turned around to face the two. Though it was night the graveyard was illuminated by fairy lights so they had no trouble seeing each other's face. Ghost's eyes went wide as she stood face to face with her father.</p>
<p>"He-" he stops himself and coughs, "Dani!" he goes to reach for a hug but Ghost steps back while pulling Clara behind her. She holds on to ghost's arm. "Sorry, that was disrespectful. Do you recognise me?"</p>
<p>Ghost doesn't answer, she simply looks at him with a furrowed brow and hate filled eyes.</p>
<p>"Ghost, who is that." She looks at Clara and puts her finger to her mouth in a 'shh' motion.</p>
<p>"Is she related to you? It wouldn't surprise me if she remarried," yet again Ghost chooses not to respond. "Please don't just stare at me, I've been looking for you. To think I'd run into by chance visiting her grave. I was worried when I heard about the immortal incident but since no one tried to contact me, I assumed you were both alright. In Fact," before he could finish his sentence Ghost stepped forward and punched him as hard as she could knocking him to the ground.</p>
<p>Ghost goes to kick him while he's down but Clara grabs her and tugs her back, "Don't! It's unfair to hit someone when they're already down!" she looks down at her and Clara notices the tears in Ghost's eyes.</p>
<p>David wipes the blood off his face as he sits up in the snow, "I deserved that, do you feel better now?"</p>
<p>Ghost steps forward and signs quickly and aggressively, "No one contacted you because they couldn't find you!"</p>
<p>"Hey now, that's not my fault, they should have tried harder!"</p>
<p>"You left! You abandoned your family and went to gods know where! I was thirteen when you left! Thirteen!"</p>
<p>"I KNOW!" he sighs and stands up, "I know. I was a terrible father. When your mother got pregnant with you she asked me to resign as a pro hero and I obliged to her request. I was young and arrogant and thought that if I couldn't be one anymore. I could at least raise the next top hero. I was upset when the doctor's told me you were mute but I moved past that knowing it could somehow mean you had a strong quirk." He paused for a moment, "and then a few years later they said you were quirkless. It broke me, back then it felt like I threw away my whole career for nothing. I started taking my frustrations out on your mother until I finally left."</p>
<p>Ghost could remember those fights, David never hit his wife but he used to scream so loud, and break things. Ghost blamed herself for so many years.</p>
<p>"I moved out of the country and picked up hero work again, I ended up marrying my sidekick." He rubs the back of his neck, "I had another kid, he's just like you Dani."</p>
<p>"What...?"</p>
<p>"Looks just like you, he's mute too. I found myself falling into the same mental state I was in when I was with you and your mother. I wish I could say that was my wake up call, it was actually when my wife left and took James with her. She told me I needed help if I wanted her back in my life."</p>
<p>"Is there a point to this story?"</p>
<p>"The point is I've been seeing a therapist! He helped me realize I can't run from my problems, because the problem is me. After seeing him for a year he suggested I confront my first family. Low and behold my shock when I found out your mother was dead. It took me ages to confirm my identity so they'd at least tell me what foster home you were sent to. Those crazy old ladies wouldn't tell me a thing."</p>
<p>"Those 'crazy ladies' were more of a family to me than you ever were."</p>
<p>"That's the problem, I was a horrible person and a worse father but doesn't it mean something that I'm trying now? After I left the foster home I kept looking. And it seems that the universe has brought us together! Doesn't that mean something?"</p>
<p>"No."</p>
<p>David looks at ghost in disbelief, "W-what."</p>
<p>"I don't care that you think you've changed. I don't care that you're sorry for how you treated me and my mother. I don't care if you've been looking for me. I don't want you in my life and I never will." ghost turns to leave but David grabs her hand and stops her.</p>
<p>"You won't even try?I CAME ALL THIS WAY TO PROVE TO YOU-"</p>
<p>Ghost cuts him off as she abruptly turns around, "Once upon a time you fell to your knees and stayed there!" she shouts, the cosmic book appearing behind her.</p>
<p>David's eyes went wide as his body moved on its own to her will, with a shaky voice he looks up, "Y- you do have a quirk."</p>
<p>She grabs him by his jacket collar. "I discovered a long time ago that the reason I was mute was because my quirk was too strong to allow me to speak freely. If i ever see you again i'll.... I can't even tell you. You see everything I say will involuntarily happen so if I told you... get the picture?"</p>
<p>David can feel his heart rate increase, he swallows a lump in his throat, "I never knew you were so powerful. Did you always know you could do this?!"</p>
<p>Ghost wanted to kill him at this moment, David was just another power hungry hero who ruined the lives of two families but glancing at Clara she knew she couldn't. "David decided to stop talking." She drops him, "He then passes out in the snow, the end." As he falls to the ground the cosmic book vanishes.</p>
<p>"Won't he freeze like this?"</p>
<p>"Do you have a cellphone?"</p>
<p>"No, mikki can't afford to get me one right now. Do you have one?" Ghost shakes her head in response.</p>
<p>"We can't just leave him here." Clara says while poking him with her foot. Ghost sighs and bends down and slaps the shit out of him. David wakes up instantly.</p>
<p>"you should get out of the snow Mr. uhhh," Clara looks at ghost who makes a butterfly shape with her hands. "Mr. Butterfly." She does a double take and looks at ghost, "Your last name is butterfly?"</p>
<p>David sits up rubbing his face, "My parents were hippies," he looks up at gGhost, "Do you really not want me in your life?"</p>
<p>Ghost nods her head once, takes Clara's hand and turns to leave the cemetary, David stays seated in the snow, as they walk away something clicks in his head he jumps up and shouts, "DO YOU THINK JAMES HAS THE SAME QUIRK YOU HAVE?"</p>
<p>She stops and turns to look at him, "If you really want to be a good father, don't burden him with this curse. Let him remain ignorant."</p>
<p>As they leave David doesn't follow, he has too much on his mind. As they walk down the street Clara squeezes Ghost's hand and looks up at her, "Thank you for not leaving him." She stops walking, "Oh no! I didn't put clovers on your mothers grave like I promised!"</p>
<p>Ghost smiles, "it's okay, it probably made her happy enough that I visited."</p>
<p>When they got back to Wayward Ghost doesn't mention she ran into her father, mostly because if she did Sapphire would try to track him down and beat him to a pulp. But also because it gave her a form of closure. Every kid wonders whether or not a parent really was as bad as they remember and for Ghost it confirms that David really was a terrible person. She wished she could have known James but it wasn't worth letting David into her life.</p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<p>The following day Momo woke up the house bright and early they all sleepily piled into the common room everyone got one gift from Mikki.</p>
<p>Momo tore open her gift like a rabid animal, inside was a bright red fire truck she hugged it tightly to her chest and jumps up and down. Clara opens hers next inside the box is a few disposable cameras, she immediately starts taking photos of everyone. Blaine opens his present and pulls out a fuzzy wolf onesie. They, without warning, strip down to their boxers and put it on; Hikaru is disgusted by this as she watches Blaine plays with the fake ears.</p>
<p>Aiko pulls out a black beanie with large cat ears sewn on, his eyes sparkle as he puts it on, "You actually found one! Hikaru look we match!"</p>
<p>Hikaru looks back and forth at Blaine and Aiko, "God, I'm surrounded by furries."</p>
<p>Aiko gestures at Hikaru, "coming from whom?"</p>
<p>"Hey! I was born this way, y'all chose to ask for those things."</p>
<p>Hikaru opens her present and pulls out a camcorder, "Whoa..." she looks at Mikki, "this must have been expensive..."</p>
<p>"Hush! None of that, I know you've wanted one for awhile, to make videos like those two guys... shoot what were they called. The angry game boys!"</p>
<p>Hikaru laughs as she turns the camcorder on, "Close enough mom."</p>
<p>Axel despite being jewish was still given a gift because Mikki didn't wanna leave them empty handed. Axel opens the box and pulls out a new book, they smile, it was the third book in the series that they started a little while ago.</p>
<p>Mikki waves for Sapphire to follow her into the kitchen, she hands her a small box, "Aw Mikki, I didn't get anything for you!"</p>
<p>Mikki pours water into the coffee pot and starts it, "It's okay just open it."</p>
<p>She pulls off the wrapping paper and sets it on the counter, she opens it to reveal a small gold ring. She gasps and looks at Mikki, "Is this..."</p>
<p>"It's a promise ring, after all this is over," she leans on the counter, "I wanna finally get together, like we always talked about."</p>
<p>"I'd like that," she wraps her arms around and mikki and kisses her gently. When she pulls away she lets Mikki place the ring on her finger.</p>
<p>"You know I got this custom made, it won't melt under extreme temperatures so you better not take it off!"</p>
<p>"I promise."</p>
<p>Aiko walks into the kitchen to grab a drink and immediately notices the ring on Sapphire's finger. Without even thinking he opens his mouth, "You're not allowed to marry my mom."</p>
<p>Mikki's head snaps up and a smile spreads across her face, "Did you just call me mom?!"</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0019"><h2>19. The Talk Show</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Im sorry we missed last fridays upload. luckly the issue is fixed (and by issue i mean i pulled something and was lowkey just wollowing in arm pain for three days) anyway we'll get back to Wed. and Fri. uploads as usual, sorry for the inconvience!</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Magma sits in a tall chair as a young woman looks through her makeup to see if she has anything that won't melt off his face. They are backstage on a popular talk show known as Birdie and Plain. It's known for its many pro hero guest stars and is the first to drop the latest hero news. Birdie was mostly human shaped but she had a long slender neck and a pointy beak, she was a swan, Plain was an average looking man, he was quirkless. Birdie and Plain were very different but they had an on-camera chemistry that was unrivalled by other talk shows.</p>
<p>As it cut to a commercial break the crew quickly rolled out the usual guest couch and replaced it with one that's less flammable. Magma is escorted on stage, Birdie and Plain shake his hand, "We normally don't do scripted segments so you should know I'm not too happy about what we're about to do." She takes a deep breath and tries to reignite her peppy attitude while they wait.</p>
<p>The cameras are recentered and the technical director starts counting down till they're back on air. "Thank god we went on break! My wife would have killed me if I swooned over Mt. Lady for another second," Birdie says looking into the camera.</p>
<p>"Speaking of your wife, is she not currently employed by our next guest Mr. Magma?" They cut to camera two and show all three in frame, "Mr. Magma not to gossip," he winks at the camera, "but what's it like working with The Actress?"</p>
<p>Birdie leans forward, "Now choose your word carefully, I'm a very doting wife. I won't stand insults!"</p>
<p>Magma crosses his legs, "Oh I would never, Actress is very strong and a confident hero definitely one of my best."</p>
<p>"That's good to hear! Now Mr. Magma I'm sure everyone is talking about Ghost Writer, even more so after the incident with Nihil. A lot of our viewers are very concerned especially with new years right around the corner. Do you think it's safe?"</p>
<p>"You know I have to be honest us heroes are very concerned with what's happening but it is very clear that with all of the reported incidents it only got bad after hero involvement."</p>
<p>Plain takes a sip of his coffee, "So you admit heroes are a part of the problem?"</p>
<p>"A little bit yeah, however know when I say that it is not me admitting the heroes are the bad guys. The Ahav follows provoke the heroes so when fights break out they can look at civilians and say violence is justified. Take Nahil as an example: they waited for that hero to provoke them and once the hero did, bam, black hole. Everyone's talking about how Nahil was unlawfully taken out, no ones talking about the 20 or so civilians that were attacked."</p>
<p>"So if any of the Ahav followers show up for the new years ball drop you plan to do what exactly." birdie asks in a concerned tone.</p>
<p>"So long as they don't attack, all heroes have been instructed to not engage. Even if Ghost Writer herself showed up we wouldn't arrest her risking the lives of those in the crowd."</p>
<p>Plain raises his hand up slightly, "Not that you could anyway, I've heard the stories, I've seen the footage of the Allmight Square incident. I'm not sure even if you did engage I doubt you could do anything."</p>
<p>Birdie nods her head, "That is true. I didn't think of that. Magma what kind of measures do you think will have to be taken to even get close to this Ghost Writer?"</p>
<p>"I wish I could tell you to ease some of the viewers out there but i can't tell you if we do or don't have a legitimate tactic. For all we know she's a big fan of the show and then suddenly they know our whole plan!"</p>
<p>They all take a moment to laugh, "you know I don't know if I'd be flattered or afraid, Ghost Writer if you're watching, hi!"</p>
<p>"Now Magma, since we're on the topic of new years, any plans?" Plain looks into the camera, "This is a genuine question and not at all a way to steer away from politics!"</p>
<p>Magma chuckles, "I do actually, in fact it'll align with a lot of other pro heroes!"</p>
<p>"Oh?"</p>
<p>"As we are all aware Allmight retired this year so what better time to throw a retirement party than on new years! We're throwing a huge masquerade."</p>
<p>Birdie opens her beak wide as if to facilitate a smile, "Does that mean we're allowed to talk about it?" she kicks her legs and squeals, "Okay okay okay! So context, I've known about this for awhile, invites came rolling out what a month ago? But we weren't allowed to talk about it! All the top heroes are gonna be there! The red carpet event of the century!"</p>
<p>"And guess who wasn't invited!" plain shouts towards the camera, "I'm kidding. No I'm not, but I will be crashing the event, Birdie will sneak me in. No one will notice!" He looks at Magma, pretend you didn't hear that!"</p>
<p>Magma pretends to zip his lips up. "Oop, looks like the director is signalling us to cut for commercials so i guess after the break you can hint about what you'll be wearing? Something custom made and fire proof I assume!"</p>
<p>The cameras cut, Plain gets out of his seat, "I need a moment, excuse me."</p>
<p>A woman steps onto stage to put some powder on Birdie's beak to help take off some of the shine. "If something happens to my wife at that party I'll ruin your career," she says without even looking at Magma.</p>
<p>He adjusts his tie and flattens out his shirt, "Are you threatening me Mrs, Skylight?"</p>
<p>"Yes, yes I am. I'm sure as many others have told you, you are making bets you can't cash."</p>
<p>"I assure you my pockets are deeper than you think."</p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<p>Parker was practically alone in Wayward, Ghost, Sapphire, and the kids were off training while Mikki was down working in the cafe along with Blaine and Axel. Parker sat on the sofa as she chased little Momo around with her bee drone. She was giggling and wasn't too fast so Parker made sure not to chase too closely. She aimlessly flipped through the channels on the tv, she was supposed to be making a new plan but frankly she was out of ideas. The virus for the billboards ended up corrupting the videos contents so she couldn't simply upload it on the internet. She misses the resources she had grown so accustomed too.</p>
<p>As she flipped through the channels she heard briefly "ghost Writer if'' and flipped to the next channel. It takes a moment to click in her head but she quickly goes back. She watches intently as they go on to discuss the Allmight masquerade.</p>
<p>She leans back into the couch, "Thats a trap if i've ever seen one."</p>
<p>Momo stops running for a moment and looks up at the tv, "What are you watching?"</p>
<p>"It's a talk show, they, uh, talk about things."</p>
<p>"What are they talking about?"</p>
<p>"They are throwing a surprise party for Allmight."</p>
<p>She looks down and takes a moment to think, "Aren't surprise parties sposed to be a secret?"</p>
<p>"Well i mean it's not actually a surprise-" Parker trails off her sentence, "Well... You're right Momo, if you know it's happening then they can't surprise you." She stands up and walks into the kitchen to brew a pot of coffee. She stands leaning on the counter weighing her options.</p>
<p>When the cafe is closed and everyone's returned home Parker is sitting at the table typing on her laptop, her eyebrows are furrowed and no one dares disturb her. In an attempt to keep from pissing her off by being too noisy the kids gather in Blaine's room cause it's the furthest from Parker.</p>
<p>Blaine's room was a little dark and gloomy but it had a nice vibe once they turned on the fairy lights they'd nailed to the ceiling the night before. Clara held up Hikaru's camcorder to line up what would be the best shot. Axel and Aiko sat behind Clara to avoid being caught in the frame. Hikaru and Blaine both laid on their backs atop the bed. Blaine was holding a guitar.</p>
<p>"Hmm, it still looks a bit awkward, maybe put your legs up," Aiko suggests.</p>
<p>Hikaru and Blaine both put their legs up, "Yeah that looks good i like that!" Clara clicks the record button, "Okay go."</p>
<p>Blaine starts playing a calming melody as Hikaru hums along for a few seconds</p>
<p>~Everybody's fraid of fire</p>
<p>Ain't nobody gonna find er-</p>
<p>Daddy wanted somethin better</p>
<p>So he burned us all together</p>
<p>He took a candle and some gas</p>
<p>as our world went up in flames</p>
<p>We realized it was all a game</p>
<p>The game of life were forced to play</p>
<p>Until our last painful day</p>
<p>Left us to burn and decay</p>
<p>wish daddy had let us play</p>
<p>Wish daddy had let us play</p>
<p>Wish daddy had let us, plaaaaaay~</p>
<p>Clara turns off the camera and Axel claps, "Wooo! Childhood traumaaaaa!"</p>
<p>Everyone takes a moment to stare at Axel before Hikaru breaks out in laughter, "The fuck is wrong with you dude."</p>
<p>Blaine sits up, "as cool the aesthetic of laying down was, it was kinda hard to play i think i messed up a few times can we go again?"</p>
<p>"We could go on the roof? The lighting would be better," Clara opens the curtain, "It will be really cold though."</p>
<p>"Nah fuck that, its hard enough playing laying down! I won't be able to play at all if I'm shivering."</p>
<p>"Maybe Parker's done and we can just go in the common room?"</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Ghost was standing on the roof leaned over the edge smoking a cigarette, Mikki always scolded her for smoking in the cafe so she'd rather be cold then get hit with a spoon again. Her nose was finally fully healed and she had no intention of rebreaking it. She was staring at a small piece of paper, it was the one Mikki had given her. She stared at Max's number as she took a long drag. Part of her regrets what she said that day, Max wasn't some cover, she was a lot more than that. Most days Ghost was perfectly fine but the silence led her to think of Max. as if it had happened yesterday Ghost could still feel her lingering warmth on her skin.</p>
<p>Ghost had purchased an old fashioned flip phone from a convenience store earlier that day, she took it out of her pocket and stared at it. Even if she could speak she wouldn't know what to say, she didn't know how to describe her feelings. She could simply call the number and let Max speak? It was probably a trap, if it was it would be a horrible idea to call it while in or near the cafe. She placed the phone back into her pocket along with the number.</p>
<p>Ghost took one last drag from her cigarette before putting it out and making her way back inside, Parker had a concerned look on her face.</p>
<p>She looked up from her computer and noticed Ghost walk in, "You know how I used to scold you because you never think things through?" Ghost nods her head. "I have a horrible idea"</p>
<p>Sapphire walks in from the kitchen, "I love horrible ideas."</p>
<p>"Sapphire, how would you like to go kill Magma?"</p>
<p>A smile spreads across her face, "I'd love to."</p>
<p>Ghost for the first time in her life being the voice of reason steps forward, "Now hold on, no followers, no backpack up, what makes you think we'll get close to him?"</p>
<p>"Magma's throwin a party," she sang in a soft melody with a devilish look on her face.</p>
<p>Mikki walks into the room with arms full of grocery bags she yells for everyone to come help her, the kids funnel into the kitchen.</p>
<p>"What kind of party?" Sapphire asks.</p>
<p>"A masquerade!"</p>
<p>"That sounds like a big ass trap to me."</p>
<p>"Is it really a trap if we know it's one?"</p>
<p>They all take a moment to look at one another, Sapphire sits at the table, "Okay you have a point, but I don't know about yall but I dont have the kinda attire in my wardrobe to blend in."</p>
<p>"Couldn't Clara just poof something into existence?"</p>
<p>Ghost raises her hand slightly, "theoretically yes but clothes require precision, we don't have time to wait for her to get it perfectly and there's no way we all could just walk into a tailor."</p>
<p>Mikki wiping her hands on her apron looks at Ghost, "Why don't you go visit Uncle Al?"</p>
<p>The name 'Uncle Al' sent a chill down Aiko's back and proceeded to nope his way out of the room. The Wayward Cafe has been run by three generations of Belladona women, Al was raised with Mikki's mother Azumi. He grew up to be quite the power house in the criminal underworld, He could get you just about anything you could possibly want or need. His only rule was no kidnapping of any kind. You could find him at his bar called 'The Second Hand Bar' which he thought was a funny name seeing how he had four arms. Ghost first met Uncle Al not long after moving to the city.</p>
<p>Clementine paces back and forth in Dani's bedroom, "I know today is your eighteenth birthday but can't you atleast wait a little while before you dive head first into Unity City?"</p>
<p>She places another shirt into her duffle bag before turning to face her, "I've been saving up for a while now, so has Annabelle. We'll be fine."</p>
<p>"I know, and i'm so proud of you, i just think yall need to think this through!"</p>
<p>"Momma, you worry too much. With Annabelle's quirk she's sure to get a scholarship and I'll start looking for a job immediately," Dani goes back to packing when the doorbell rings.</p>
<p>Clementine leaves to answer the door. Standing before her was Annabelle, a young plump woman with a singular horn on her head. "Tell me your brother talked some sense into you?"</p>
<p>Annabelle sets her bags down beside the door, "James is actually very supportive!"</p>
<p>She sighs, "And of course you choose to leave when Sofi is out visiting her sisters."</p>
<p>"I love Mamma Sofi but I really don't wanna get hit for stealing her baby away!"</p>
<p>Dani walks into the living room carrying her bags, since her hands are full she can't greet Annabelle so she simply taps her forehead on hers.</p>
<p>"Where are you kids even gonna go?"</p>
<p>"We don't know yet actually, that's the fun part! I know there is a big activist group in the city that Dani can't wait to be a part of." Dani gives Clementine a great big hug, the best she could without putting down the bags. Annabelle also gives her a hug before they walk out of the door.</p>
<p>"If anything happens call me! And if you wanna come home don't you dare hesitate! I'll even pick you up if you need it," she yells as they walk down the driveway.</p>
<p>Their first year in the city was a bit of a struggle but Dani really started making a name for herself, even started going by the alias "Ghost Writer"</p>
<p>One day they found themselves in a mysterious bar they found hidden in an alleyway in the middle of the city. It looked nice but the drinks were cheap and the food was good. It was a nice hole in the wall. It had red walls with an intricate design with shiny black table tops and bar. The bartender was a big man, he was a mix of muscle and fat. He had four arms and a big red beard, he looked like an irish santa who happened to be a weightlifter.</p>
<p>"I think we have enough left over for a night in a hotel but I think tomorrow we should look for some more work to do."</p>
<p>Dani sets her burger down to sign, "No no, you need to focus on school, i'll handle it."</p>
<p>"But it isn't fair to put the burden on just you!"</p>
<p>"Think of it like this, once you graduate and get a nice cushy job as a doctor you can take care of me."</p>
<p>The bartender walks over to them and offers each a hand to shake, "I'm sorry, not to be nosy but I hear you're looking for work? Names Al," he looks at Annabelle, "You're going to school to be a doctor?"</p>
<p>"Uh, yes, i wanna be a surgeon,"</p>
<p>He drops a thick envelope on the table, "Why don't you fine young ladies follow me to the back and we can talk. I might have a job for you." Dani opens the envelope to find it full of hundred dollar bills, her eyes go wide and she hands it to Annabelle who nearly chokes on her water at the sight. "If you decline, consider that a gift if you don't mention what you're about to see."</p>
<p>They two look at each other and then the money before they stand in unison, Annabelle laughs nervously, "As long as it's nothing illegal I'm sure we'd be glad to help!"</p>
<p>"It's not illegal to help someone who's hurt is it?"</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0020"><h2>20. Uncle Al</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Sapphire took a deep breath before walking into the Second Hand Bar, Ghost and Parker behind her. Uncle Al was nowhere to be seen so they all simply sat at the bar. The young woman behind the counter sat three glasses in front of them. "What can I get for you," she asks in a stale tone.</p>
<p>Sapphire pushes the glasses aside, "we're here to see Al"</p>
<p>"He's not seeing anyone right now, come back in a week."</p>
<p>"He'll see us, tell him"</p>
<p>The young woman picks up a knife and points in Sapphire's face, "Listen here glow worm, you're not about to walk into my bar and demand shit when i clearly said come back later."</p>
<p>Sapphire slaps the knife from her hand, "I'm not dealing with this, Al will be sad if I burn the bar down." she walks through the door leading to the back despite the young woman tugging on her arm. Parker and Ghost follow behind.</p>
<p>Al sits at a large table surrounded by men in suits as Sapphire steps into the room each man pulls out a gun and points it at her but once Al realizes who it is a smile spreads across his face. "My little volcano! Everyone leave we'll continue this later!" he shouts, all the men quickly exit the room along with the female bartender who glared at them as she left. Al scoops Sapphire into a large bear hug and effortly tosses her into the air and catches her like a princess, "How is my favorite fire hazard?" Al sets her down and hugs Parker, squeezing her tightly. Ghost avoids a hug, "Claire, Dani, how are you?"</p>
<p>Parker sighs, "How many times do i have to ask you to call me Parker?"</p>
<p>"At Least once more my little fighter pilot! You all hardly visit, tell me how's the family." they all sit down</p>
<p>Sapphire rests her legs on the table, "Aiko's getting a little better at controlling his quirk."</p>
<p>"Good for him!"</p>
<p>"I hate to skip the pleasantries but we need assistance," Parker interupts with a stern tone</p>
<p>"I heard about the riots, so sad to all your followers in jail, what do you need?"</p>
<p>She pulls out a notepad, "We each need something to wear to blend in at a formal masquerade, I need the parts for a new drone along with tools to do so, and I need at least five expendable men. Oh and I need them by New Years."</p>
<p>Parker slides the notepad across the table for Al to look over, "New Years? That's a lot for only a few days prep time."</p>
<p>"If you bring me a laptop i'll get you double what you'd normally charge."</p>
<p>Al snaps his fingers, one of his works walks into the room. "bring me a laptop," the man nods and swiftly exits the room. "Okay im sure i can get you everything you need except most of my men for hire have been extended to someone else, also you and I both know the parts you need for a drone will take at least a month to acquire."</p>
<p>"Okay I can live without the men but could you atleast get some parts to upgrade a pre-existing drone?"</p>
<p>The same worker walks back in and hands parker a laptop. Al stands up, "I'll see what I can do."</p>
<p>As Al leaves the room Parker glances at Ghost, she opens the laptop, "It's not like you to be so silent," Ghost narrows her eyes, "You know what i mean. You used to be very ecstatic whenever we visited Al."</p>
<p>Ghost doesn't respond to her and simply leans back into her chair. Sapphire snickers, "Yeah probably because the last time she was here it was to buy Annabelle's ring."</p>
<p>"Oh."</p>
<p>Al slams open the door, "Okay i can get you what you need by tomorrow," he hands parker a business card, "go visit my buddy Rico, best tailor on the island. He'll take your measurements. I already called him."</p>
<p>"Alright cool, lemme finish this and I can wire you the money."</p>
<p>"Take your time. Also while you're here," he pulls out a cellphone from his pocket and hands it to ghost. "Would you be a dear and give this to Annabelle, she left it last time she was here."</p>
<p>Ghost's heart drops as she stares at the phone, it's as if all the color drains from her face. She takes a deep breath and sets it on the table, calmly stands up and walks out of the room slamming the door behind. Parker and Sapphire stare with wide eyes.</p>
<p>"They fighting or something?"</p>
<p>"You don't," Sapphire shakes her head, "You're still in contact with Annabelle?" she shouts.</p>
<p>He chuckles nervously, "Aren't we all?"</p>
<p>Ghost walks out of the bar and lights a cigarette, she leans against the wall. There was a time in her life when she would say Annabelle was the love of her life. They found solace in each other after the immortal incident both having lost their parents. After struggling for so long in the city, the money they received from Al was a gift from the gods. All Annabelle did was help patch up a villain now and then or maybe just a thug from the street. Because of Al it set them up for many opportunities. Ghost thought about how she went from some woman talking to anyone who would listen on street corners to a preacher in front of hundreds of followers. If it wasn't for Al she would have never met Parker or reunited with Sapphire.</p>
<p>Three and a half years ago the name Ghost Writer was only known as a term used to describe a type of author, little to Ghost's knowledge she gained a little more attention then she realized. One day she woke up tied to a chair with a gag in her mouth.</p>
<p>Ghost takes a moment to look at her surroundings, looks like an office building, not abandoned but definitely not open. The desks are covered in some kind of plastic sheets, it smells of fresh paint and bleach. There are blinds covering the windows but with the amount of light leaking through its safe to assume it's the early morning. She tries to activate her quirk but the sudden pressure on the top of her head indicates that there is a second cloth tied around her to keep her jaw locked in place.</p>
<p>'Okay, I don't remember how I got here so they either have a memory wipe quirk or they knocked me out. Actually my head doesn't hurt so maybe not? And whoever they are they know about my quirk.' she thinks to herself.</p>
<p>She wiggles her wrists around, the rope is tied very tightly but not too much so that it could cut off circulation. She hears a door open behind her and leans backwards to look.</p>
<p>"Good you're awake," the woman says as she shuts the door.</p>
<p>Ghost stares as she walks around to her front. She has what appears to be a poorly kept mohawk and some kind of technical device piercing her skin, it seems to go down her back like a second spine above her skin. She's also wearing some kind of headpiece. As she walks she puts most of her body weight on a crutch under her left arm. In her right hand is a small pocket pistol. She pulls out one of the chairs and sits down pointing the gun at ghost.</p>
<p>"You don't know who I am, but I know you. Heroes look at you and see some rando spitting nonsense on street corners. If only they knew the threat you pose to them." Ghost narrows her eyes. "With a quirk like yours I'm surprised they even let you walk the streets. If you flaunted it more you'd have probably been kidnapped and turned into one of the commission's dogs."</p>
<p>She stands up and hobbles her way to the windows and opens one of the blinds. Ghost looks away at the sudden amount of light, "Do you know where we are Ghost Writer?" she around to see Ghost shaking her head no. "This is where most of the immortal attack happened, it took two years but they're almost done rebuilding the surrounding area. It's like a ghost town out there. Did you know the immortal incident was planned?" ghost's eyes widen in disbelief. "Yeah I know what must be going through your mind right now," she sets the gun on the table and steps toward her, "You want to think I'm lying but deep down you know it's true! I have-" before she can finish her sentence her neck twitches and her legs give out, she tries to keep herself upright with the crutch but after a few seconds of trying to stay balanced she collapses.</p>
<p>Ghost looks down at her and starts to struggle in an attempt to get loose, not to escape but to help her. The young woman sighs as she moves her legs so she can sit up, "Don't bother, my knot tying skills are unrivaled. I did a lot of research on you, you know. You lost your mom in the attack, I lost my ability to walk." her neck twitches again and she regains feeling in her legs. she picks up her crutch and stands up. "I may not look too strong, and I haven't quite worked all the bugs out in my tech but." she unties Ghost's hands, "But i'd be a strong alley."</p>
<p>Ghost rubs her wrists before taking the gag out of her mouth and tosses it on the ground. she extends her hand to shake the young woman's.</p>
<p>"You can call me Parker."</p>
<p>"Ghost," she signs.</p>
<p>"I should apologise for stinging and kidnapping you."</p>
<p>"Stinging?"</p>
<p>A small rounded drone flutters from behind and into view. It resembles a bee but with four wings and a single eye. On its back is a thin stinger. "I mostly use her for surveillance but she's equipped with an non lethal dose of benzodiazepine," after a long pause and blanket of confused stares Parker rubs the back of her neck, "It's a tranquilizer, like a sleeper dart."</p>
<p>"That explains why I don't remember getting here."</p>
<p>"Dragging you into my car was very hard." before Ghost can respond Parker's neck spazzes and she collapses again but this time she was able to catch her. "Thanks... they're becoming more frequent so I need to run another diagnostic."</p>
<p>"I know someone who might be able to help you."</p>
<p> </p>
<p>As Ghost stood outside reminiscing about old memories and smoking her cigarette it began to snow ever so lightly. She sighed deeply as she pulled out that piece of paper again. She hesitated to dial the number but when she did it went straight to voicemail.</p>
<p>"I'm so glad you called, but I turn this phone off when i'm at work. When I come home I'll see that you called, meet me in the alley where we met at ten o'clock pm."</p>
<p>As she hangs up the phone Parker and Sapphire walk out of the bar, "Since when do you have a cellphone?"</p>
<p>Ghost places it back into her pocket, "Emergencies."</p>
<p>"Whatever," Sapphire waves her hand, "We need to get to ricos, Al arranged some discreet transport so let's go."</p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<p>Max opened her front door and dropped her bag in the walkway. She takes off her snow covered jacket and drops it as she moves forward. After kicking off her shoes she plops directly into bed. "I hate my life," she yells into her pillow. As her cell phone rings she sighs and pulls it out of her back pocket, it was her mother. She stood up and answered it, walking into the kitchen.</p>
<p>"Hey CopyCat! Just calling to check up on you because my only child doesn't love me enough to call so the only time I hear about you is on the news."</p>
<p>She opens the fridge, "Mom don't try to guilt me, you know I'm very busy. My job is important."</p>
<p>"More important than your own mother?"</p>
<p> </p>
<p>"Yes," she responds without hesitation.</p>
<p>Max can hear an audible gasp of disgust before faintly hearing her in the background, "Talk to your daughter! She gets that from you!"</p>
<p>after a few moments of silence and hushed whispers on the other line she hears her father's voice, "Hey sweetie how are you?"</p>
<p>She sighs as she leans on the wall, "I'm tired dad, i'm really tired."</p>
<p>"Your grandfather was a hero, it's hard work but it's honest."</p>
<p>"Is it?"</p>
<p>There's a long pause, "You know you can tell me anything, right?"</p>
<p>"Yeah, I know."</p>
<p>"I'm gonna hang up now, give you time to rest okay? Good night sweetie."</p>
<p>"Good night dad." she hangs up and places the phone on the counter when she glances at the flip phone. She turns it on expecting like all the other days to be nothing but when the screen boots up a single notification remains, one missed call. Her heart drops. She looks at the clock, it was eight-forty p.m. if she left now she'd be sure to make it to the Mayflower District in time. She slipped on a pair of flip flops, grabbed a jacket and her keys and ran out the door.</p>
<p>Max arrived in the District around Nine-fifteen, it only took her a few minutes to find the alley and she stood there waiting. She stared at every passerby as if they were the one she was waiting for. At ten-two she sat on a stack of egg crates and by Ten-Thirty she was starting to wonder if Ghost would ever arrive. She waited just one more hour and left around eleven-thirty.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Ghost stared at the clock and watched it tick away, she wanted to see Max but it would never lead to anything good. Tomorrow she would throw away the phone and the number. There was a mission to focus on, she couldn't allow herself to be distracted.</p>
<p>As the coming days passed they did their best to prepare. Parker's old drone could now shoot out sleeper darts instead of stabbing people. Sapphire spent days crafting her weapons to be absolutely perfect, she molded her lava like a master artisan. Ghost had no need for weapons but Al forced her to take a small pistol, just in case.</p>
<p>Al was able to get a blueprint of the hotel where the masquerade that was being held, he was unable to get a complete guest list. Parker unrolls the paper across the dining room table in Wayward.</p>
<p>"Okay Sapphire, you enter first, you will slip in through the back, make your way to the top floor, break into one of the hotel rooms and open the window to allow my drone in. once in I enter, I will do my best to remain near the walls and survey with my drone." She hands Ghost and Sapphire a small wristband, "When i spot Magma i'll ping you. While my drone flies around hopefully undetected i will make my way to the basement"</p>
<p>"How will they not see it?," she places the band on with the help of Ghost.</p>
<p>"Mirrors, they will reflect the light like a floating disco ball."</p>
<p>"Okay?"</p>
<p>"Ghost you will remain somewhere around here," she points near to the left of the ballroom. "According to our intel that will be where the stage is, once you see Almight ping me and I'll cut the power."</p>
<p>"I grab Almight and Sapphire grabs magma," she signs.</p>
<p>"Woah woah wait, i'm killing magma, it's not like we can dart him, i'm not bringing him back to some safe house, i'm killing him.</p>
<p>"Sapphire, we'll be in a room surrounded by heroes, do you really wanna risk getting dogpiled?"</p>
<p>"I know him, once he realizes i'm there he won't let anyone touch me. He'll want to kill me himself."</p>
<p>Ghost and Parker look at each other before looking back to her, "Okay. I trust your judgement."</p>
<p>"I think we need some kind of signal, in case things go bad," She rubs the back of her neck, "Not that i don't think you can handle magma, but, it would make me feel better."</p>
<p>"What about blue jay," Parker suggests.</p>
<p>"No we used that last time, if we have a code word it should at least be different every time."</p>
<p>Aiko steps into the room and walks past them into the kitchen covering his ears, "I promise i'm not listening to the super secret plan i'm just thirsty!" he walks back out with a jug of chocolate milk that is immediately confiscated by Sapphire.</p>
<p>"We talked about this," she sets it on the table, "go drink some water you little gremlin."</p>
<p>He sighs and goes back to grab a water bottle and stomps out of the room.</p>
<p>Sapphire looks at the jug, "How about chocolate milk? That can be our code word."</p>
<p>Parker chuckles, "Chocolate milk it is. Okay everyone rest up the party is tomorrow, i want everyone in tip top condition."</p>
<p>"Aye aye captain," Sapphire and ghost jokingly salute.</p>
<p>"This is gonna be our riskiest mission yet, be ready."</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0021"><h2>21. The Masquerade</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>After scaling the side of the large building Sapphire heated her hand and melted the glass entering a room on the 4th floor. Once in, the drone followed shortly behind, she opened the door and let it out. Sapphire dropped a bag and began to strip and change into her dress. She slipped on a short sleeveless dress, it was a deep red and covered in glitter. She put on a pair of heels and dug through her bag for her last accessory, a full face black cat mask.</p>
<p>Sapphire dawned her long black coat and made her way down, she passed a few hotel workers but none of them flagged her as suspicious. She made it into the ball undetected, once in position she tapped her wristband to alert the others.</p>
<p>Parker and Ghost were waiting in a limo a little ways down the street, Parker wore a black long sleeved dress with a slit down her left leg, on her right was a thigh strap holding her staff in place. She tapped the driver seat and the limo pulled out and headed toward the ball.</p>
<p>Ghost wore an average black suit but with a tailcoat jacket that had a surprisingly intricate pattern. Concealed under her coat was a shoulder holster, she didn't like the idea of guns but everyone insisted on being prepared for anything.</p>
<p>"Okay, I have our invitations, Al really went all out, look." Parker hands one of them to Ghost. Apparently their cover was exchange heroes from Russia. A smart play, Russian heroes were very private, the whole country is. No ones fully sure who are what any of the heroes are like. Their supposed hero names were пчела and Книга</p>
<p>"I'll wait around back, ping me when you've got them and I'll drive the car around and we can book it," the drive says as he pulls in front of the red carpet. Parker puts on her fox mask and hands Ghost hers, unlike the others her mask only covered her eyes with large bunny ears that came out the top. The driver stepped out and opened the door for them. Cameras flashed and reporters lined up to ask them questions. They simply walked forward and ignored them.</p>
<p>The front guard looked them up and down with narrow eyes, "Invitation."</p>
<p>Parker hands her's to the man and looks at Ghost, "Он попросил у вас приглашения." Ghost nods and pulls out her invite. "Sorry, she doesn't speak English," she says in a heavy Russian accent.</p>
<p>"Not a problem, we have quite a few international heroes attending," he scans the two invites, his tablet screen glitches for a mere second before the names пчела and Книга appear on screen as approved guests. He steps aside and lets them in.</p>
<p>As they move inside Ghost looks at Parker and signs, "the accent was a little much, even my mother's wasn't that thick."</p>
<p>"Yeah okay but she also lived here for a while so it must have faded a bit," she whispers.</p>
<p>"That's not how accents work," as they move through the lobby they can recognize some of the heroes, even in animal masks it's hard not to know who they are.</p>
<p>"I didn't know you'd be here!" Someone shouts, causing Ghost to jump a little, she realizes it's a young girl, she wasn't wearing a mask. She ran past them and up to a young boy with fluffy green hair, ironically also in a bunny mask. They're probably here on work studies. Maybe a plus one to the heroes they are shadowing. She takes a note that children are present as not to cause any unnecessary pain when things go south.</p>
<p>Parker taps Ghost on the shoulder before slipping away. Ghost makes her way to the ballroom, she looks up toward the lights. 'Parker was right, you can't see the drone.' she thinks to herself before immediately locking eyes with Sapphire, she's leaned against a wall drinking champagne. A man in a pig mask is flirting with her, not that she's paying him any mind. They nod at each other as Ghost moves into position.</p>
<p>'I knew you'd come,' the words startle Ghost as they echo in her mind. 'Turn around,' the voice says.</p>
<p>She turns around to see a woman in a feathered white dress and an owl mask, 'I wish you hadn't.' the voice said but the woman's lips did not move. Ghost looked at her with confusion, 'You don't recognize me?' The woman raises her mask ever so slightly, it was Max.</p>
<p>'Telepathy?' Ghost thinks.</p>
<p>She puts her mask down, 'Yes, but only for you.' she smiles, 'looks like your nose healed okay.'</p>
<p>'Aren't you going to turn me in? Sound the alarm?'</p>
<p>'Not yet,' Max extends her hand, 'we look suspicious just staring at each other. Dance with me.'</p>
<p>Ghost takes her hand and leads her onto the dance floor. She keeps a close eye on the stage, 'what do you want?'</p>
<p>'Closure.'</p>
<p>'I can't offer that.'</p>
<p>'You can, I just want an honest answer. Did you mean it, what you said on that rooftop?'</p>
<p>She doesn't respond immediately, she simply spins Max mimicking how the others are dancing, 'what are you referring to?'</p>
<p>'Don't make me repeat it.'</p>
<p>'If you can read my mind then you must know my plan, why stall over this? Just turn me in.'</p>
<p>'Don't avoid my question.'</p>
<p>'How do you intend to stop me when the fighting breaks out?'</p>
<p>Max sighs deeply, 'fine, i'll play your game. I'm already immune to you, I spoke it before the party even started.'</p>
<p>'And how did that work out last time?'</p>
<p>She smiles, 'I won't fall for the same trick twice.'</p>
<p>Ghost pulls her in close with a smile on her face, 'is that so?' in time with the music she waits for opportunity and dips her low. As she brings her up she overextends Max's arm and pulls her into a deep kiss. Using her tongue she searches for the paper which she finds sewn into the side of her cheek. She runs her tongue over the stitching before pulling away, 'clever girl.'</p>
<p>'I could of just shown you'</p>
<p>'Where's the fun in that?'</p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<p>Parker stands impatiently in an elevator making her way down to the basement. The building was an overall nightmare to navigate. The ground floor was of course the lobby and the ballroom, below that was the staff area, then laundry, followed by the basement. When the elevator door opened there were two fairly large men behind it.</p>
<p>"Ah, I apologise I don't quite understand this. I must have clicked the wrong floor," she says in a heavy Russian accent and a smile on her face.</p>
<p>The men look at each other and one smiles, "Я так понимаю, нумерация здесь довольно странная! куда ты хотел пойти?"</p>
<p>Parker's smile fades, Ghost only taught her a few sentences and common phrases, "Shit." She holds up her finger telling them to wait as she pulls out her staff, "сожалею." she holds up the staff pointed at one of the men's faces. He stares at it in confusion, she taps the button on the side and it extends bashing into the man knocking him over. Before the other man has a moment to react she quickly steps out of the elevator, moves behind him and strikes the back of his knees causing him to collapse. She twists the staff, on the end two probes pop out. She briefly taps both men electrocuting them.</p>
<p>"I really hoped I wouldn't have to use that. I don't have time to move their bodies," she sticks her staff into the elevator panel causing it to short circuit. She steps over the men's bodies and moves on. As she makes her way down she decides to take off her heels and leaves them on the ground.</p>
<p>Unknown to her one of the men stood up, the sudden drop in temperature caused her to turn around, "Sorry cub, I won't go down so easily."</p>
<p>Parker smiles, "I love a challenge." when she exhales she can see her own breath, good thing she decided on a long sleeves today.</p>
<p>The man stretches his arms as his quirk activates, his features become more exaggerated. With each passing second he looks more and more like a bear. Hardened ice grows from his arms forming crystal clear paws. His roar shakes the hallway.</p>
<p>She jumps slightly side to side to loosen her limbs, "Lets go ice bear come on!"</p>
<p>He charged forward swiping his claws at her. The man is probably 3 times her size but she's using that to her advantage, ducking and avoiding his advances easily. The more she dodges him the angrier he gets. He attempts to just grab her. She purposely falls backwards lifting one leg up to anchor her, kicking him in the crouch. Crippled where he stood and her still anchored to his body she extends her staff jabbing him directly in the throat.</p>
<p>Parker uses her staff to stand herself up and high kicks him in the side of the head. He slams into the wall crushing some piping before falling to the slightly damp concrete flooring. "Hmpf, looks like your all talk ice bear," as she turns to walk away he grabs her ankle. She hits the floor hard. "Can't you just stay down," Parker shouts turning onto her back.</p>
<p>"I like little cubs who fight back."</p>
<p>"Ew."</p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<p>Sapphire is slowly losing her patience as the pig masked man gets ever so closer little by little. Her disinterest isn't as off putting to him as she would hope.</p>
<p>"Come on mommas, i'm one of the top ten. Imagine a night with a real hero!" Sapphire simply shows her engagement ring in response. "I bet he won't mind if you give a freebie to come home with someone. What that mouth do pussy cat?"</p>
<p>"What do you want it to do?" she says in an overly exaggerated deep voice. By hardening some of the lava in her neck she can deepen her voice and make it raspier.</p>
<p>He licks his lips while putting a hand on the wall. "Mmm, a two for one deal," he whispers leaning in close to smell her hair.</p>
<p>Before Sapphire gets a chance to look at him with disgust she spots Magma. He wore a Deep red suit, it had an intricate bleeding roses design scattered meticulously on the jacket; they glowed like lava filled veins across his chest. Magma wore a blood red wolf mask with bared fangs.</p>
<p>Too his left attached to his arm was who she assumed to be Ms. Sadness. She wore a velvet red dress, it flowed out at the hip and had a slit down her chest. Covering her face was a doe mask, fitting, seeing who she was with. Sapphire wanted to approach them instantly but she knew she couldn't. Almight was nowhere to be seen, without Almight Ghost wont signal Parker, without Parker the powers on.</p>
<p>'I just need to focus,' she thinks to herself, finally stepping away from the man harassing her, 'wait, where's Ghost?' Sapphire turns her attention to the stage, she can't spot Ghost's bunny ears. A twinge of panic settles into her skin as she scans the ballroom. She taps her wrist band in an attempt to ping Ghost, no response. She pings Parker, no response.</p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<p>Ghost and Max continue to dance across the floor, Ghost can feel her wristband vibrate but she ignores it. She doesn't want Max to know there are others. She does her best not to think about it.</p>
<p>'Are you satisfied that I won't turn you in so recklessly yet?'</p>
<p>'No, I'm not to be honest.'</p>
<p>'What will it take for you to believe me?'</p>
<p>Ghost stops dancing and suddenly grabs her wrists, 'Come with me!'</p>
<p>"What," she says out loud.</p>
<p>'Abandon your duties as a hero, join us in our fight. Together with your help they wouldn't stand a chance against us!'</p>
<p>Part of Max wanted to accept her offer but images of Magma appeared in her eyes, the feeling of her face melting off her bones. She swallowed a lump in her throat, "I can't," she whispers. Max sticks her fingers in her mouth and rips out the sewn down paper removing her telepathy and immunity to Ghost's quirk. She crumples them up and drops them. She can taste the blood in her mouth but she simply walks away leaving Ghost of the dance floor alone.</p>
<p>She stood there staring as Max walked away the further she got the more she wanted to follow her. It became too much to bare, she gave in to her desires and chased after Max. before she could catch up Sapphire grabbed her wrist, "What are doing! Why aren't you in position?" she angrily whispers, "You're like a toddler sometimes, focus! I bet Parker is just chilling down stairs waiting for the signal!"</p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<p>Parker struggles in a stand still on the floor, she uses her staff to push back on the ice bear but they are too equally matched, she starts kicking him in the stomach and manages to push him off of her. She pants from exhaustion. He stands wiping the blood off his snout. "You've gotta be kidding me."</p>
<p>"I have a lot of stamina for my age."</p>
<p>"STOP FLIRTING WITH ME," she shouts. She takes a deep breath, "I wanted to get through the night with no casualties, but you're really holding me up here buddy."</p>
<p>"Aw, what are you going to do little cub? Try to snap my neck?"</p>
<p>"Nope." She takes quite a few steps back.</p>
<p>"I'm so afraid."</p>
<p>Parker collapses her staff before taking off running, she kicks off the wall and leaps toward the man, she wraps her thighs around his face. He waves his arms in an attempt to stay balanced, she pry's open his jaw and holds the staff over his mouth. She taps the button and it instantly extends down his throat. The man's eyes widen but before he can rip her off him she twists the hand, out pops the probes and he's electrocuted from the inside. He falls to his knees and then over. Parker pushes his body off her legs.</p>
<p>"Gross," she slowly pulls her staff out of the man and wipes the goo on the lower part of her dress before collapsing it again. "Okay, time to get in position," she takes off running. "Okay forward, forward, left," she darts down the left hallway, "one, two" she starts counting the doors as she runs down. She almost passes the sixteenth door but stops herself only slipping on the damp floor, quickly jumping up and dusting herself out she shouts "Bingo," as she opens the door.</p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<p>Sapphire places Ghost into position, never once taking her eye off Magma, she watches as Sadness kisses him on the cheek before leaving him to talk to some heroes from their sister agency. She can't help but move closer to him, she keeps repeating 'Wait for Almight.' in her head. Sapphire stands behind him as he picks up a glass of champagne from a waiter. She can feel the heat radiating off him.</p>
<p>Unfortunately he can feel the heat off her, he smiles slightly as he sips his drink. Sapphire radiated heat like her mother, he'd recognize it in an instant but just to test his theory without turning around he tapped the shoulder of a nearby hero. "Do you know if Thunder will be attending?"</p>
<p>"He's supposed to but you know him!"</p>
<p>The two chuckle together, Magma can feel the heat radiate more intensely, so can the other guests. Sapphire notices her unwanted attention, "Shit," she whispers. She cups her hands around her mouth, "PLAN B PING HER NOW!"</p>
<p>Ghost hears Sapphire's voice echo through the ballroom and taps her wrist band almost instantly the lights go out startling some of the heroes. Sapphire takes off her mask, it melts in her hand as the secondary power system clicks on. The lights are dramatically dimmed.</p>
<p>"You really never could control your temper when it came to Thunder."</p>
<p>"I CAN'T CONTROL MY TEMPER AROUND YOU," She screams before lunging at Magma.</p>
<p>The bee drone begins darting as many of the mind control heroes as it can before a hero shoots it down. It was able to take out 26 heroes.</p>
<p>None of the heroes have noticed Ghost. She stands among the stunned crowd, several people try to assist Magma but he keeps shouting for them to stay away. They assume it's because he doesn't want to burn them but the truth was he'd been waiting a long time to kill her himself.</p>
<p>As Ghost goes to open her mouth Max grabs her hand, she looks up at her teary eyed, "Don't."</p>
<p>"Once upon a time," the cosmic book appears several D-list heroes run in fear trampling over each other. Ghost places her hand on Max's cheek, "Are you going to fight me?"</p>
<p>"No, he will. ERASER!" Everyone ducks out of the way to give him a clear view. As they lock eyes the cosmic book glitches and fazes out of existence. Max is disgusted in herself;</p>
<p>Parker breaks her way through the panicked crowd into the ballroom taking as many heroes out as she can, tazing them with her staff, "Sapphire! finish him!"</p>
<p>Sapphire has Magma pinned to the ground taking every opportunity she can to punch him in the face. The sound of Parker's voice distracts her for a mere moment, just enough for Magma to overpower her. Magma holds her hands to the ground when he notices her finger, "Is that a ring?" She pushes him off and stands up, lava starts pouring from her hands forming her obsidian sword. "I preferred the one from Jack."</p>
<p>She points the sword at him and slowly inches forward causing him to back into a table, "You don't get to prefer anything."</p>
<p>He places his hands on the table, behind his back he slowly forms his own dagger. "Shouldn't I be allowed to want the best for my daughter?"</p>
<p>"I'm not your daughter," she shouts, spitting out a small amount of lava.</p>
<p>"You used to be, I remember those days when you were just a wee thing, back when your mother was alive," he leaves one hand behind his back to continue to form the blade as the other reaches down his shirt. He pulls out a long chain with a golden ring at the end. "I would say i'm starting to forget her face but," his eyes almost soften as he looks at her, "You look just like your mother."</p>
<p>She hesitates for a moment before her angered expression returns, "I'm not in the mood for your mind games!" she dashes forward, swiping her sword, missing Magma she slicing the table in half. he quickly slips the freshly made dagger into his back pocket as he dodges. </p>
<p>"Woah, woah now. Lets talk like adults, Don't you wanna know what really happened to your mom that night?"</p>
<p>Sapphire's eyes widen as she suddenly finds it hard to hold up her sword.</p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<p>Parker is fighting her way to Ghost using her staff to fend off the other heroes, 'good thing i did all that combat training in UA, he was right. Relying too much on my drones would have gotten me killed,' she thinks to herself.</p>
<p>As she plows through hero after hero she spots Ghost fighting in the distance, 'she still hasn't pulled out the handgun, i figured she wouldn't use it.' she readies herself to knock out the next hero raising her staff only to freeze in place. Before her was a young blond boy on his shirt collar is a small symbol sewn on the corner with blue thread; the UA logo.</p>
<p>Before she can react he places his hand on her stomach sending a painful wave of electricity through her body. "Oh no," she can feel her tech short circuiting. Her neck twitches, a sensation she hasn't felt in a long time. Her knees slowly give out, she uses her staff as a crutch to hold herself up. She looks into the young boy's eyes. He can see the look of fear in Parker's gaze. He doesn't know why, but part of him feels as if he's made a grave mistake.</p>
<p>Parker almost sends herself into a panic attack as she loses all feeling in her legs and collapses to the ground, she looks up ready to scream Ghost's name for help when she sees it. She finally pulls the gun only to immediately be disarmed, she's stabbed in the stomach by another hero. Parker stares as Ghost falls to the floor.</p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<p>The ballroom feels as if it's spinning for Sapphire, "What do you mean what really happened?"</p>
<p>"Why don't you drop your sword and find out," Magma slowly reaches for his dagger.</p>
<p>"Tell me now!"</p>
<p>"You were too young to remember the early days, your mother didn't have too much control of her emotions. Runs in the family I guess," he inches forward ever so slowly.</p>
<p>"CHOCOLATE MILK," Parker screams at the top of her lungs.</p>
<p>Those words echo through the building causing Sapphire to look in its direction, at that moment Magma lunges at her with his dagger in hand. He almost pierces her skin but she holds onto his wrists, the dagger hovering over her nose. "The truth is your mother was just like me! You just don't remember her!"</p>
<p>"Don't." her body temperature starts rapidly increasing, "Talk," she pushes Magma back, hes shocked by her sudden surge in strength. It's almost as if she's burning him, "About My," the sensation grows, Magma is forced to drop the dagger, "MOTHER!"</p>
<p>Magma can feel his wrists melting, Sapphire was his daughter, she had his quirk, why was her lava hotter than his. His hands misshapen and fall to the ground, for the first time in his life, Magma was afraid.</p>
<p>"SAPPHIRE!" Parker screams as heroes surround her, she jabs at them slightly trying to taze them with her staff but someone grabs her from behind.</p>
<p>Sapphire snaps out of her blind rage and finally looks up, she spots Parker in the arms of a hero. And then she sees Ghost collapsed on the floor, in a pool of her own blood.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0022"><h2>22. Mirrored</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Sapphire breathes heavily, she has Magma in her grasp but she can't do it. Sapphire throws Magma into the crowd, she's closest to Ghost so she runs toward her first. Max was crouched over Ghost's body putting pressure on her wound.</p>
<p>Sapphire body slams everyone in her way. With every step, from her left hand she pours lava into the ballroom. The heroes with ice type quirks try to keep it at bay why the others try to get to safety.</p>
<p>Max is the only hero who does not flee when Sapphire approaches her, "I'm sorry." She watches her pick Ghost up gently before running off to grab Parker. With Ghost in her arms and Parker over her shoulder she fights off what little will approach her before leaping out the window.</p>
<p>Magma stands lava flowing from his wrists trying to reform his hands, "WHAT ARE YOU STANDING AROUND FOR, AFTER THEM!" several heroes take off, some jumping out the window like Sapphire, others funneling out the main entrance.</p>
<p>Once his hands are fully formed again Magma looks out into the crowd of remaining heroes when he spots her, Max; dazed where she stood, staring off into the distance as if bewitched by the full moon that crept in from the shattered window. She stares at her blood stained hands.</p>
<p>"Move, get out of my way," He shouts, pushing past the heroes. He grabs Max by the shoulder and forces her to face him but before he can say anything the Actress takes her hand and pulls her gently away from Magma.</p>
<p>"Are you alright sweety?"</p>
<p>"I-"</p>
<p>The Actress smiles and nudges her toward her wife Birdie, "Why don't you go get cleaned up." Magma goes to push past her but she places her hand on his chest forcing him to stop where he stands, "I'd like to remind you where you are, you're not just surrounded by your heroes Magma, ain't nobody gonna speak in your favor if it's caught on camera."</p>
<p>Magma looks around, she's right, mixed in with all the heroes are reporters like Birdie. They're not as easy to pay off. He exhales deeply, letting out a ploom of smoke into the air. "Fine, but I'm not letting that girl off easy. You can't protect her forever."</p>
<p>"The second she realizes she's the strongest person in this room I won't have to."</p>
<p>"She's not the strongest person in this room!"</p>
<p>The actress laughs loudly gaining unwanted attention, "You think you are? Oh Magma," she uses her thumb to wipe the lava from the corner of his mouth, "You can't even control your own quirk." she flicks the lava dropplets into his face ignoring the burns left behind. "Blind rage isn't strength Magma, it's your weakness."</p>
<p>"Don't test me."</p>
<p>The Actress may be shorter than Magma but she stood tall and looked him directly in the eyes, "You and I both know you can't threaten me, I'll go toe to toe with you right now."</p>
<p>He swallowed the lump in his throat as a droplet of lava slid down his face like sweat. He took a moment to look at his surroundings. there weren't just HIA employees at this ball, he didn't have any ties to these heroes. He couldn't threaten them like the ones under him. Magma straightened his tie, "I want everyone here to file witness reports and have someone draw up a statement for the media."</p>
<p>Actress smiled, a fake smile, one you knew was fake with eyes that cut like daggers, "Very well sir, right away sir."</p>
<p>Max cried loudly as she tried to wash the blood off her hands. Birdie stood next to her, "It's okay, breath, breath."</p>
<p>"Why did he stab her? We were supposed to take her in. Why did he stab her why!"</p>
<p>Birdie grabs her face forcing Max to look up at her, "Hey! Hey, calm down, don't ever blame yourself for the mistakes made by people with lesser morals than yourself." she wipes away Max's tears, "You did as you were told, Eraserhead did as he was told, Slicer acted out. Even Magma knew he couldn't kill her cause she'd be turned into a martyr, this isn't your fault."</p>
<p>"I-" she pulls away from Birdie, "I can't do this anymore. I used to think being a hero was the best thing I could do for the world," she stares at herself in the mirror."</p>
<p>"And now?"</p>
<p>"I no longer believe in what we're doing."</p>
<p>"But you're too afraid to disobey orders."</p>
<p>Max touches her face gently, "I can still feel the burns."</p>
<p>"Good, it will be your reminder to never let your guard down. I've heard alot about you, your quirk can protect you from any amount of danger if you speak it into the world. Never let that man near you if you aren't fireproof."</p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<p>As Sapphire leapt through the glass she shielded Ghosts eyes, "PING THE DRIVER," she shouts as she runs through the grass toward the back of the building.</p>
<p>The drive sat relaxed with the radio turned on to the max volume, "YOU TOLD ME TO GO BUT YOU KNEW IT WOULDN'T HAPPEN," he sang at the top of his lungs when his wrist band started vibrating. The driver panic turns the music off and floors it. He sees Sapphire cornered by a few heroes, he hits two of them stopping right in front of her. He presses a button on the dashboard and the passenger door opens.</p>
<p>Sapphire hops into the car and the driver speeds off, "keep pressure on her wound," she bangs her fist on the privacy glass, "Call Al, make sure he's got a medic on standby!"</p>
<p>Parker rips off her dress sleeves and balls them up to put pressure on Ghosts stab wound, she doesn't react, "if you die i'm gonna kick your ass, im gonna realimate your body just to kick your ass!"</p>
<p>Something rerends the car causing them to spin out for a few seconds, "We've got a tail!" the driver shouts.</p>
<p>"I'll handle it," Sapphire pushes a button on the door panel, the sunroof slowly opens, "Drive steady or i'll kill you!" She climbs onto the roof, they are being followed by three cars. With a deep breath she steadys her footing thrusting her arms forward erupting a small wave of lava that fills the road behind them. One of the cars slams on the brakes the other goes through it only to have their tires immediately popped and beginning to melt. The third completely avoids it by driving into oncoming traffic. After avoiding the lava and a few other cars it drives back into the correct lane rear ending them again.</p>
<p>Sapphire almost loses balance but manages to stay upright, "Okay, you wanna play the hard game, let's play the hard game!" The Lava pulls in her hands until her obsidian sword is formed, she holds it up like a jousting rod and throws it full force into the windshield of the tailing car. It plunges directly into the drivers chest causing them to wreck the car.</p>
<p>The driver rolls down his window, "Is anyone else following us?"</p>
<p>"No, i don't think so!"</p>
<p>"Alright get in or hold on!"</p>
<p>Sapphire crawls back in through the sunroof when the driver takes a sharp turn down a side road. He activates his quirk by slamming his hand on the side of the car, instantly the car takes on a new shape, it went from a black limo to red hummer SUV. he slams on the breaks as he turns again skidding back onto one of the main city streets before continuing to drive normally. Several cop cars catch up with their location but pass them unknowingly.</p>
<p>"Ghost is losing a lot of blood! Can't you pick up the pace," parker shouts!</p>
<p>"We can't risk looking suspicious, just hold on we'll get there soon!"</p>
<p>Sapphire leans down, "Let me," she raises the temperature in her hand and burns the exposed wound to stop the bleeding, "She's gonna be okay, don't worry."</p>
<p>"I hate it when you're the sensible one!"</p>
<p>Shaking her hand to cool it off she smiles and lets out a little laugh, "I know."</p>
<p>There's a short pause of silence before Parker looks up at Sapphire, she cradles Ghost's face, "I'd feel better if she at least showed some sign of pain, I know she's alive but damn, would it kill her to flinch."</p>
<p>"Ghost just likes being dramatic," Sapphire keeps a sarcastic tone to comfort Parker but the truth was she was deeply worried. She really wondered if this was truly gonna be their last mission as the three of them.</p>
<p>The Driver pulled in around the back of the bar, Al and a few others were already waiting, Sapphire carries ghost in and Al grabs Parker.</p>
<p>As they walk into one of the back rooms Sapphire can see a woman in a lab coat prepping a bench, "Okay just lay them right here and I'll," she turns around, they both stare at each other stunned.</p>
<p>Sapphire swallowed, the woman before her was a plump, she had shoulder length hair pulled into a ponytail and a single horn protruding from her forehead. "Annabelle..."</p>
<p>Annabelle snapped out of her initial shock, "Place them on the bench!"</p>
<p>She quickly lays Ghost down staring at Annabelle, "I heard you still helped Al but, I didn't think he'd call you."</p>
<p>She takes her cloth scissors and starts to cut open Ghost's suit, "I'm the only doctor Al knows."</p>
<p>"You're a real doctor now? That's amazing."</p>
<p>Annabelle's horn glows slightly and her pupils vanish, she had a x-ray like quirk that could allow her to see specific layers of anything she looked at. "Looks like there's quite a bit of internal bleeding. I need everyone out of this room while I work!"</p>
<p>Sapphire stares as everyone slowly leaves the room, "Don't let her die okay?"</p>
<p>Annebelle nods but it's not as reassuring as Sapphire would like. She steps into the bar to wait with everyone else, the closed sign hangs in the doorway and the blinds are drawn. Parker sits in a booth with a computer trying to get her implant to respond but it doesn't. The driver is sitting at the bar drinking vodka humming with his ear buds in. she sits at the end and looks up at Al, "It's my fault."</p>
<p>He places a glass in front of her and pours a large amount of whiskey into it, "Sometimes missions go south, it happens."</p>
<p>"I got too close to Magma, I gave us away cause I couldn't keep my emotions in check. If I had just stuck with the plan Ghost wouldn't be hurt right now, Parker would be walking. And we'd be interrogating two of the most famous heroes out there."</p>
<p>You don't know that, not for sure. Something else could of gone wrong even if you did everything perfectly. The point is when it got tough you were there for your friends, and you got them to safety with their lives intact."</p>
<p>"Barely."</p>
<p>"A fun fact about life is that barely alive is still being alive. Being alive is hard, dying is easy, the fact the Ghost is alive is proof that she's fighting, that you fought to protect her. So rather than fearing the worst plan for a better future, how can you make sure this won't happen again?"</p>
<p>She kicks back the entire glass then slams it on the table, "Ghost needs combat training, have someone teach her how to properly hold and use a fucking gun."</p>
<p>He pours her another glass, "Sounds like a plan."</p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<p>Magma fills the office with smoke as he walks, he burns the carpet with every step, workers do their best not to look him in the eye as he makes his way to his office. Smoke Bomb does her best to collect the smoke before it has a chance to trigger the fire alarms.</p>
<p>Once in his office he breathes rapidly before sweeping everything off his desk in anger, "Bring me Slicer," he says through clenched teeth.</p>
<p>Smoke Bomb opens the door, two heroes walk Slicer into the room in restraints they force him to kneel.</p>
<p>"Sir I swear it was an accident! I can explain! Just let me explain!"</p>
<p>"Echo please activate your quirk," Smoke Bomb asks calmly to one of Slicer's escorts.</p>
<p>Echo places his hand on the wall, "Yes Ma'am," and sound proofs the room.</p>
<p>Tears begin to stream down Slicer's face, "Sir, Mr. Magma please! My wife is pregnant, she's waiting for me!"</p>
<p>Magma steps forward, "Do you have any idea what you've done?"</p>
<p>He places his forehead on the ground, "PLEASE I'LL DO ANYTHING! I'M SORRY!"</p>
<p>"If Writer dies, everything we've worked for, everything we've accomplished will be thrown out the window. You wasted our mission tonight. What's your name Slicer?"</p>
<p>"Jakoby! Jakoby Barker!"</p>
<p>"And your wife's name?"</p>
<p>"Magma please, this has nothing to do with her!"</p>
<p>"ANSWER ME!"</p>
<p>"Taila Barker."</p>
<p>Magma rights down her name on a sticky note on his desk, "I'll make sure to send her flowers."</p>
<p>Jakoby's eyes widen in fear, he struggles to get away from the man holding him down, "HAVE MERCY!"</p>
<p>He leans down in front of him, "In your next life I pray you think more about your actions." The hero forces Jakoby to lay on his back, he kicks and struggles as Magma stands to his full height.</p>
<p>He activates his quirk but his blades pass through the hero as if he was an illusion. They can't even pierce Magma without the tips melting. Magma extends his hand and covers Jakoby's screaming body in an excessive amount of lava.</p>
<p>When the screams stop he sits in his office chair, "Have someone stage a car accident will you?"</p>
<p>Echo takes his hand off the wall, "Yes sir!" him and the other hero exit the room leaving behind Smoke bomb, and the burning carcass known as Jakoby.</p>
<p>"Where's Neil?"</p>
<p>"He's been extended to the rescue heroes, his contract will last just about two more months."</p>
<p>He sighs deeply, "Could someone call him to deal with this?" he gestures at the oozing pile of lava slowly creeping across the floor.</p>
<p>"All do respect sir, I don't think Neil would take too well to the corpse currently resting in it. I think a death will be what pushes him into betrayal."</p>
<p>"You're right," he leans back in his chair, "call someone I guess, just get it out of my office before the stench is unbearable."</p>
<p>"Right away sir."</p>
<p>Once Smoke Bomb had stepped out the room he pulled his necklace out of his suit shirt and stared at the gold ring dangling before him, "Just like your mother, you may not have her hell fire but you burn brighter than she ever could, if you didn't want to kill me i'd be so proud."</p>
<p>'I'm proud,' a voice echoes in his mind, 'I hope she does kill us!'</p>
<p>"Been awhile since you spoke to me, finally awake Jackson?"</p>
<p>'I'm always screaming and you know it, I've been screaming since you killed our wife.'</p>
<p>"Sense we killed our wife," Magma stands up and walks over to the large mirror. He was calm but his reflection was angry. "Our mind may be split but my desires are yours."</p>
<p>'You're just a parasite that's infected my family line for generations!'</p>
<p>"THE OTHERS ARE CONTENT LIVING IN SHARED SPACE I AM NOT! WITHOUT ME YOU'D BE WEAK!"</p>
<p>'At Least i'd still have my family.'</p>
<p>"You know what Jackson, maybe I won't kill Sapphire, maybe I'll corrupt her like I did us, maybe cheyenne will join me!"</p>
<p>'Leave them alone, they're happy to have each other unlike us!'</p>
<p>"Oh i'm happy to have us! Without you I wouldn't even be alive! I'm happy I'm in control!"</p>
<p>'If you had control, she'd still be alive.' Magma punches the glass shattering the mirror, 'just because you can't see me doesn't mean my voice goes away Magma. You like to pretend you hated her but you loved her just as much as I did.'</p>
<p>"She got in my way, and now Sapphire's in my way."</p>
<p>'Killing her will only break us further. Not that I would let you, the angrier you are the less control you have, i'd take over in that moment, i'd let her kill us. End all this.'</p>
<p>"I will never relinquish control to you."</p>
<p>'We'll see.'</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0023"><h2>23. Dani Lake</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Neil stands in the garage at the rescue agency rolling the firehose back onto the truck when another pro hero walks in, Backdraft. "Oh Extinguish, thank you! I was just about to do that myself!"</p>
<p>"Oh, it's no problem, Magma likes to keep me busy so when i'm not working it feels weird."</p>
<p>"That's a good mentality but we all need to rest now and then," the alarm system goes off and a secondary light system starts flashing red, "Or maybe not." Neil quickly finishes putting the hose on the truck and hops behind the wheel two other heroes, Hydro Mask and Jet pump. Backdraft smacks the hood of the truck, "good luck boys!"</p>
<p>As Neil backs out of the garage Jet taps a button on the dashboard, a screen lights up in the centor, "What'd we got?"</p>
<p>The woman on screen looks down as she types, "I'm sending the location to your navigation, just a regular house fire nothing nefarious. But it is pretty bad and looks to be spreading to the neighboring houses so be quick."</p>
<p>"You got it glasses!" Once on the main street Neil blares the siren and books it.</p>
<p>Jet turns off the monitor and looks back at Hydro chugging water bottle after water bottle, "That's never not gonna be gross man."</p>
<p>He wipes a few droplets off his face, "vete a la mierda hombre, nadie habla de tus palmas sudorosas!"</p>
<p>"DON'T YOU YELL AT ME IN TACO!"</p>
<p>"THATS RACIST," he throws one of the empty bottles at Jet angrily which bounces off him onto Neil causing him to swerve.</p>
<p>"What did I say about throwing things when I'm driving!" even before he turns onto the street everyone can see the intense amount of smoke in the sky.</p>
<p>"I know glasses said it was big but..." Jet trails off unable to focus as he stares at the house.</p>
<p>"Are the three of us gonna be able to handle this," Hydro puts his mask on and tightens it.</p>
<p>As they get closer they can see it's more than spread, almost the whole street corner is on fire, "Are we sure this isn't an attack?"</p>
<p>"Who cares, let's go!"</p>
<p>"Right," Neil puts his mask on and everyone hops out the truck.</p>
<p>Jet attaches the fire hose to his arm and screws it into his hero costume, "all take the two on the far left, Extinguish crowd control!"</p>
<p>Neil makes a large circle of foam around the crowd so if the fires spread it won't touch them when a screaming little girl being held back by an adult catches his attention. "Is everything alright?"</p>
<p>"MY BROTHERS STILL IN THERE!"</p>
<p>"Which house?"</p>
<p>She points to the one in the middle, the one most taken by the flames, Neil puts on his gloves and charges head first into the burning building practically filling the house with foam. Inside the most he can hear is the sound of cracking wood and and his reparator filtering the air. As he makes his way deeper into the house he can hear crying. Sitting in the middle of the fire next to two charred bodies was a boy who couldn't have been older than four or five.</p>
<p>"Oh no," He started pumping out foam in larger amounts till the boy was completely covered. Once the boy was put out all the other fire in the neighborhood vanished as if it never existed. He knelt down and dug through the pile until he picked up the boy and wiped his face off.</p>
<p>Hydro and Jet stared in confusion as the fires vanished. The second Neil stepped out the woman lost her grip on the little girl and she ran barreling toward them before Jet swooped her up. "Woah now, woah, it's dangerous little one."</p>
<p>The boy clenched tightly to Neil's coat, "Call glasses, we need a containment unit."</p>
<p>"Why," Neil leaned in close and whispered something in Jet's ear, "Jesus christ." he hands the little girl to Hydro and gets into the truck.</p>
<p>Neil sets the boy down in the grass, "Hydro set her down, can you check the other houses? Make sure no one else is trapped?"</p>
<p>The second he sets the girl down she runs toward her brother but Neil stops her, "Don't touch him, he's still hot."</p>
<p>"It's not his fault!"</p>
<p>"I know, I know."</p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<p>After a long sleepless night Annebelle emerges from behind the locked door still wiping the blood off her hands, everyone in the bar perks up, "I've done everything I can."</p>
<p>"Is she alive?" Sapphire asks standing up from her barstool, a little drunk she stumbles.</p>
<p>"For now she is at least, if she can survive the night i'm sure she'll live to tell the tale," she looks at Parker, "Your hardware is fried right? Give me ten minutes and I can work on you. Al can you have someone, genty, move ghost?"</p>
<p>"I can wait, you've been up all night you need to rest."</p>
<p>Al nods in agreement, "You shouldn't overwork yourself."</p>
<p>"I've had longer nights at the hospital, I promise."</p>
<p>Sapphire slips away into the other room as the others try to convince Annabelle to lay down. Ghost lays motionless on the bed with tubes sticking out of her, wrapped in bandages and as pale as her namesake she almost looks dead. If it weren't for the subtle rise in her chest as she breathed Sapphire would think she was dead. She pulls up a chair from the corner of the room and sits next to the bed.</p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<p>Dani jolts awake tossing the covers off her, she breathes rapidly as sweat drips off her face. She clenches her stomach but when she looked at her hand nothing was on it. She reaches for her cellphone to check the time, it was five fifteen in the morning. After spending a moment to gain some kind of mental stability she gets up and walks into the bathroom. Her reflection almost startles her, she runs her hands through her long hair before bending over to wash her face.</p>
<p>A little girl walks into the room, about five years old with long white hair. Next to her was a large dog, the little girl had her hand on its collar as they stood in the doorway. "Mommy?"</p>
<p>"Clara sweety, what are you doing up so early," something about hearing her own voice felt strange to Dani but she couldn't quite understand why it felt wrong.</p>
<p>"I had a bad dream."</p>
<p>"You two huh?" Dani bent down and picked her up, "Well good thing you had Lieutenant to protect you. What was you dream about?"</p>
<p>As Dani walks to her bed and sits down Lieutenant follows attentively, "I had a dream there was a shooting at the highschool."</p>
<p>She pushes Clara's hair back, "You don't have to worry about that sorta thing, nothings gonna happen to me. Also you gotta stop watching the news, you're five." She reaches for the remote and turns on Clara's favorite show, "You can watch this while I get ready for work okay?"</p>
<p>"Okay mommy." the second Dani stands up Lieutenant hops into the bed to lay with Clara.</p>
<p>She walks into the bathroom and turns on the shower, as it warms up she stares into the mirror. In the back of her head she can hear an unnerving beeping that won't stop. She opens the cabinet door and picks up a bottle of pills. She takes two and washes it down with a handful of tap water. she sighs deeply before undressing and steps into the shower.</p>
<p>"Mom?"</p>
<p>When she looks up she's suddenly in the car outside an elementary school, "What," she says in response to her surroundings, not Clara.</p>
<p>"You gotta unlock the door."</p>
<p>She shakes her head, "Right sorry," she taps a button on her door, "Sorry, i'm just a little out of it today."</p>
<p>"Did you take your medicine today?"</p>
<p>She smiles faintly, "You don't have to remind me to take my meds, I'm a grown up, remember."</p>
<p>"Just thought i'd ask," she opens the door and hops out, "See you after school."</p>
<p>"Bye, I love you!" She waits for Clara to close the door and watches her walk into the building before pulling away. She taps the assist button on her phone, "Tell me my schedule for today."</p>
<p>Through her car's speaker the phone begins to respond, "Brunch with the girls at ten am, Therapy appointment at noon, pick up Clara at three-thirty pm and take her to her first girl scouts meeting, pick up Clara at five pm."</p>
<p>"Seems simple enough, better head home and pick out something nice to wear."</p>
<p>As she walks into the front door her phone rings, "Hello?"</p>
<p>"Hey, I think i left my badge at your house, totally got yelled at for not having it, can i swing by and look for it?"</p>
<p>"Yeah sure, i'll leave the door unlocked for you."</p>
<p>"Oh you're home? I assumed you were in class."</p>
<p>"I never work on the first Wednesday of the month, I have," she hesitates, "Some personal matters."</p>
<p>"Oh okay! I'll see you in about five minutes then," The phone hangs up.</p>
<p>Dani sets her phone on the coffee table, Lieutenant walks out of Clara's room to jump on the couch, Dani opens the window blinds slightly so she can look out the window. "You know i had you before Clara was born, I'm your mother, I should be your favorite!" Lieutenant doesn't acknowledge her. "Typical."</p>
<p>She gets up and walks into her bedroom to change, she puts on a pair of black leggings and a dark grey sweater. As she does her makeup she hears the front door open. "Max is that you?"</p>
<p>"Yeah!"</p>
<p>Dani can hear her run around the house before coming into the bedroom. She stares at Max as she looks through the nightstand. "I love a woman in uniform."</p>
<p>"Don't lie to me," she finally finds her badge and snaps it onto her bulky belt, "There you are! Okay, I'm off!"</p>
<p>Dani yells for her as she's about to walk out the door, "Max?"</p>
<p>"Oh, sorry," she walks back, despite being considerably shorter than Dani she still manages to reach her face. Max gives her a quick kiss before running off, "Gotta get back before the chief yells at me!"</p>
<p>Dani waves through the window as Max hops back into her squad car and drives off. "I should probably head off too, they hate it when i'm late."</p>
<p>The second Dani walks into the little restaurant she spots her friends, Sapphire, her wife Mikki, and Parker. She puts her bag on the back of her chair, "Hows Momo?"</p>
<p>Mikki puts her hand on her belly, "Any day now!"</p>
<p>"You're late again," Parker says sipping her Mimosa.</p>
<p>"Only by a few minutes!"</p>
<p>Sapphire chuckles, "Who cares about that, what I wanna know is are the rumors true?"</p>
<p>"Rumors?"</p>
<p>"The town's small Dani, did you really think we wouldn't find out?"</p>
<p>"I deny it, whatever it is."</p>
<p>"You should, cause when i found out Rosewood high's very own radical history teacher was dating a cop i couldn't believe it."</p>
<p>Parker spits out her drink, "YOU'RE DATING A COP?" she shouts a little too loud causing most of the restaurant to stare. She coughs before leaning in, "You're dating a cop?"</p>
<p>"You see, the thing is. Okay it's true, technically, I'm currently seeing someone, no labels, who happens to be a cop."</p>
<p>"Traitor."</p>
<p>"Oh don't listen to her, is she nice? Has she met Clara yet?" Mikki asks as Sapphire and Parker look on in betrayal.</p>
<p>"She actually has, she stopped by for dinner yesterday after her shift. We're taking it really slow."</p>
<p>Mikki takes Dani's hand, "It's so good seeing you move on."</p>
<p>As the brunch date goes on Dani's attention to the conversation fades little by little as she stares out the large windows.</p>
<p>"She really fucked up this time, I've never seen her this injured."</p>
<p>Dani looks up at Sapphire, "Im not hurt, what do you mean?"</p>
<p>The conversation falls silent, "What?"</p>
<p>She rubs her temples, "Sorry i'm just a little out of it today."</p>
<p>A concerned look spreads across Parker's face, "You know if you're having one of those days, i can go pick up Clara from school and she can stay with me tonight."</p>
<p>"What? No. Im fine."</p>
<p>"Did you take your medicine today?"</p>
<p>"Of course i took my medicine! I just have a headache, I really wish you all would stop pestering me about it!"</p>
<p>"I didn't mean it like that."</p>
<p>Dani checks the time, "I actually need to go, I don't wanna be late for my appointment." She stands up and grabs her bag.</p>
<p>"I hate how you always leave after yelling at someone."</p>
<p>Dani snaps around, "I WASN'T YELLING!" when her eyes adjust to her sudden motion she's startled by her sudden change in surroundings.</p>
<p>Her therapist sits in a large leather chair with his legs crossed, "I never said you were."</p>
<p>Dani sits down on the sofa sighing, "I think I need a higher dose."</p>
<p>"Why do you think that?"</p>
<p>"Nevermind."</p>
<p>"I can't help you if you don't talk to me."</p>
<p>"If i tell you, you'll just mark me unfit and take my daughter away."</p>
<p>He flips through the papers on his clipboard, "Well, you are very high functioning, your medication appears to be working, and I know for a fact you have no intent to harm yourself or others. Lots of people have to live and deal with schizophrenia. I know you'd never do anything to hurt or upset Clara. No ones going to take her away."</p>
<p>"Promise?"</p>
<p>"I promise."</p>
<p>"I keep losing time, i'm miss hearing, or rather hearing voices more frequently, and no matter what I do I can't stop hearing this beeping sound. Everywhere I go it just continues."</p>
<p>"Okay, sometimes your body can get used to a medication however, I don't think a higher dose will help. The more you take the more docile it could make you. That's not a good thing for a single mother." Dani nods in agreement, "However if it gets to the point you can't think I want you to come in for a while."</p>
<p>"I don't think that would go over well with my job. You had no idea how many evals I had to go through to get that job. If parents find out i've been admitted they'll pressure the school board to fire me."</p>
<p>"What's more important? A job, or your mental health?"</p>
<p>"If I say job will you yell at me?"</p>
<p>"Let me rephrase that, what's more important? Your job, or Clara?"</p>
<p>She refuses to look the therapist in the eyes, "Clara."</p>
<p>"Then you know if it gets worse you are to come in."</p>
<p>"Yes sir."</p>
<p>"Has anything else been bothering you?"</p>
<p>She places her hand on her throat, "Sometimes it feels like this isnt my body."</p>
<p>"How so?"</p>
<p>"I don't know really? Like I don't look how I think I should?"</p>
<p>He nods, "Most of us are dissatisfied with our appearance, maybe try cutting your hair? Nothing like a good change to remind you that you're in control."</p>
<p>"Maybe."</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0024"><h2>24. Clentched Teeth</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Annebelle walked into the still closed Bar the next day. Al was making breakfast while Parker attempted to balance on the back wheels of her wheelchair. Sapphire was finally dragged from Ghost and was seated at the bar awaiting a hot meal. "Everyone seems so lively I take it Ghost survived the night?"</p>
<p>"Her heart rate is still lower than I'd like it to be."</p>
<p>"What is it?"</p>
<p>"Fifty-six."</p>
<p>"That is a bit low, but she's in a deep resting state so it's bound to drop. Keep an eye on her while I work on Parker."</p>
<p>"I would be," Sapphire raises her tone so Al can hear her from the kitchen, "If somebody didn't drag me away!"</p>
<p>Annebelle unzips her coat, "Parker have you eaten?"</p>
<p>"No."</p>
<p>"Good, Al, do you have any Lyashino Niku?"</p>
<p>Sapphire looks up, "Was that japanese?"</p>
<p>"Yeah, it means healing flesh."</p>
<p>Al walks out carrying trays of food in his hands, "Only a little, he actually died a few weeks ago." he sets them on the bar and makes himself a large plate.</p>
<p>"I have several questions."</p>
<p>A chill runs up Parker's spine, "The most disgusting thing I've ever eaten."</p>
<p>"What is it?"</p>
<p>"More like who. Lyashino Niku was the product name on the black market. He had a truly amazing quirk. His flesh could numb the body of all pain and would quicken the healing process of any injury. He would slice flesh off his arms and legs, jerky it and sell it. If it wasn't for that stuff Parker would have been in a world of pain for her implant surgery," Al explains.</p>
<p>"How did he die?"</p>
<p>"Hoshi killed him, or rather his gang. Kidnapped him, thinly sliced, cooked and sold for millions. You can even get a shot of blood and bone broth. I can't afford that, so all i got is a single slice from when I purchased it from the man himself."</p>
<p>"The Calico's?"</p>
<p>"Yep."</p>
<p>Annebelle chokes on a piece of bacon for a moment, "Wait only one slice? There's no way I can operate on Parker with one slice!"</p>
<p>"I've actually been trying to brace myself for it all morning. If i take it before we start it will be painless but i'll be bed ridden for who knows how long, but if i take it after i'll heal quickly, three days tops."</p>
<p>"Do you have any idea how painful that's going to be?"</p>
<p>"Probably more than I'm capable of imagining."</p>
<p>"You could die of shock!"</p>
<p>"The word 'could' in the sentence gives me hope, which means I might not."</p>
<p>Annebelle takes a moment to think before placing her hand on Parker's shoulder, "I can't do that to you. If you wanna survive this surgery i'm going to need you in a real hospital."</p>
<p>"Annebelle, if I walk into a hospital, fuck, a dentist's office, i'd be recignized by someone and i'd be arrested in an instant. Are you really gonna leave me cripled like this? During the most dangerous part of our mission?"</p>
<p>"Parker-"</p>
<p>"If you don't help me i'll do it myself, i'll rig up a drone or something and get it done."</p>
<p>Annebelle sighs deeply, "Al have someone prep the chair and get Parker something to bite down on."</p>
<p>Sapphire stands up, "I'll lose my mind if I have to listen to Parker scream for the next hour, I'm going back to wayward. Let Mikki know we're alive, help with the kids. Al if you even for a second leave Ghost alone, i'll burn the bar to the ground." Al nods as he grabs his plate and walks into Ghost's room. Sapphire leans down and presses her forehead on Parkers, "Don't die on me."</p>
<p>"I'd never."</p>
<p>"Better not, I swear to the gods I'll kill everyone in this district if I lose either of you." She steals a random hoodie off the coat rack, puts it on, and stuffs her hair into the hood. "I hate wearing thick clothing."</p>
<p>"Wait!" Al shouts poking his head out of the room, "glowing eyes was a part of your description they said on the news, there is a pair of sunglasses under the register!"</p>
<p>"Curse my gem like eyes," she walks behind the bar and puts on the glasses before walking out of the building; slamming the door behind her.</p>
<p>Annebelle walks in holding a small plastic jar with the Lyashino Niku piece, "Are you sure I can't get you to eat it now?"</p>
<p>"I really need to heal fast, there's no other choice."</p>
<p>She holds the door open so Parker can roll into the room, "May the gods take pity on you." with the help of one of Al's workers she lifts Parker into a specialized chair. It was originally a tattoo chair that they repurposed to help Parker when they first met.</p>
<p>she sat with her chest to the chairs cold leather and her arms crossed. She removed her shirt and bra after the worker left.</p>
<p>Annebelle handed her a belt, "Fold it over and bite down," once it was in her mouth she strapped her arms to the chair to keep her from jerking. She sat in a rolling stool and picked up her scalpel, "Are you ready?"</p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<p>Dani stood in front of her class of tired teenagers lecuring about the ableist and proformative tendencies that accompany the 'Save the turtles' movement when the bell rings. "Remember, Friday we will be debating about topics you are passionate about. Be prepared but don't over plan!" As the teenagers funnel out of the room the last one to exit is a young skinny boy with curly black hair, "Aiko," she says loud enough to receive his attention.</p>
<p>Aiko freezes in place and slowly turns around to face his teacher, "Yes Ms. Lake?"</p>
<p>She sits at her desk and pulls out a piece of paper, "Your math grade is slipping."</p>
<p>He takes the grade sheet, "Shouldn't this be something Mrs. Valley should be telling me?"</p>
<p>"Normally yes, but you fail to realize I'm the only teacher you will respond to and even answer back. And to be honest the only reason you even respond to me is because i've known you sense you were a baby. I really want you to start working on talking more, engaging a little."</p>
<p>"I talk to people!"</p>
<p>"More like person. Hikaru is the only student you speak to. How are you gonna debate tomorrow?"</p>
<p>"I-" he rubs the back of his neck, "I don't know."</p>
<p>She sighs, "At least the math is something your brother can fix, you should try asking him for help. He's very good with numbers."</p>
<p>"I don't really like to bother Neil."</p>
<p>"Aiko," he looks up, "You will never be a burden on Neil, you have no idea how hard he had to fight for you. Let him help you." Aiko doesn't respond and simply nods before exiting the room.</p>
<p>"And make some more friends!" she shouts down the hallway.</p>
<p>Dani sat in her silent classroom, it was her lunch break so she'd finally have some peace to herself. She got up and closed the door before placing a frozen burrito into her microwave and waited. The only noise being her own breathing and the buzz of the machine behind her. Dani leaned back in her chair to rest her eyes when a scream pierced her ear drum. She shot up in a panic but remained seated, holding her breath she waited. Was this her mind, or was it a student. The screams continued, whoever it was they were in complete agony but Dani could see students calmly walking by her classroom door. Her mind was simply being cruel. Dani sighed in relief but the screams continued for almost three hours. By the time her next class started she had an unbearable headache, the next class was asked to work in silence.</p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<p>Al stared at Ghost's body, her eyebrows furrowed, "You can hear it too huh?" The sound of Parkers screams echoed through the building. "In a coma you're still burdened by the pain around you.</p>
<p>One of the workers pokes their head into the room, "Al, we have a problem."</p>
<p>"What is it?" The man simply lowers his gaze exhaling a little louder then one normal would. Al narrows his eyes, he looks at Ghost with sorrow in his eyes, "Bring the car around." He leans down and kisses Ghost's forehead before leaving the room.</p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<p>Annebelle works tirelessly wiring in a new motherboard into Parker's implant. After an hour of unimaginable pain the shock and sheer amount of adrenaline in her body kept her numb, in fact she was slowly losing consciousness.</p>
<p>She taps Parkers face a few times to get her attention, "Come on, I need you to stay awake, don't pass out on me! Tell me a story, keep your mind active!"</p>
<p>Through broken words and a shaking voice she asks, "what kinda story?"</p>
<p>"Tell me about the day we met."</p>
<p>"Well, for starters I remember the look on your face. You looked so scared."</p>
<p>"Yeah I looked scared, you walked into the bar with a gun pointed to Ghost's head."</p>
<p>"Then we spent," Parker's words begin to slur and trail off.</p>
<p>She hits her again, "We're almost done stay awake!" She closes the small compartment and screws it into place. "I'm going to start sewing you up okay." Parker simply grunts in response but the second the needle enters her skin she's wide awake.</p>
<p>It took two hours to fully sew up Parker, once done she downed the Lyashino Niku with no hesitation. Placed in a bed she layed on her stomach, Annebelle was surprised to see that Al was gone when she rolled Parker into the room. She rolled her right next to Ghost.</p>
<p>Parker takes Ghost's hand for comfort as Annabelle leaves, tears form on her eyes but refuse to fall. "You gotta wake up Ghost, I can't do this alone."</p>
<p>"What happened to Al," Annabelle asks.</p>
<p>Four workers were playing poker at a small round table, without looking up one responds, "something came up, he's gonna be gone for a few days."</p>
<p>"That's unfortunate, Sapphire will be quite upset."</p>
<p>"Just tell her one of us sat with her until the surgery was done."</p>
<p>"I suppose."</p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<p>Dani stares into her bathroom sink as the water runs aimlessly, she breathes deeply as if trying to catch her breath. She grabs her pills from the open cabinet and takes two, when she closes the door there is a reflection she does not recognize. Short hair, sorrowful eyes and spiked eyeliner. She steps back with a sudden screech in fear, she slips on a sock and falls backwards into her shower. ripping down the curtain she hits the tub hard and no longer in control of her breathing.</p>
<p>Clara stands in the doorway clenching onto Lieutenant, "Mommy?"</p>
<p>Dani glances at her, for a split second Clara looks far older than she was. "Yes," she asks while trying to stay calm.</p>
<p>"Do I need to call aunty?"</p>
<p>"Aunty? Why would you need to call Parker?"</p>
<p>"Aunty told me to call her when you have problems."</p>
<p>"I only slipped Clara."</p>
<p>She finds it hard to make eye contact, "You've been having a hard time breathing all day and, and, you seem like you are having a problem."</p>
<p>"Please don't call Parker, I'm, I'm fine." she pulls herself up and sits on the toilet with her face in her hands, "I promise."</p>
<p>Clara walks into the bathroom and takes one of Dani's hands, "You gotta wake up Ghost."</p>
<p>Dani immediately reels back with a gasp startling the little girl, "What did you say?"</p>
<p>Hesitant she backs away, "I asked if you were hurt," tears well up in Clara's eyes.</p>
<p>Dani stands and picks Clara up into a hug, "Im sorry baby, I didn't mean to jerk."</p>
<p>She sniffles and buries her face into Dani's neck, "I just wanted to make sure you were okay."</p>
<p>"I know baby, I know." When Clara pulls back there is a crack in her face as if she was a dropped porcelain doll, Dani does her best to show no reaction but the sound of the front door opening startles her.</p>
<p>"Dani! You really need to keep your front door locked, I could have been a murderer," Max shouted as she entered the house.</p>
<p>Dani stepped out of the bathroom and made her way to the living room with Clara in her arms, "You scared me for a second."</p>
<p>"Did you forget I was coming?" she takes off her coat and proceeds to unclip things from her belt, such as her handcuffs and flashlight holster.</p>
<p>"I did," she sets Clara down, "We already ate dinner, I can heat you up some leftovers?"</p>
<p>"That would be great, I'll go change and you can tell me about your day!" Max ruffles Clara's hair, "You too kiddo!"</p>
<p>"It's actually my bedtime."</p>
<p>"You can stay up for another thirty minutes if you want sweetie?"</p>
<p>Clara looks at her mother with a concerned look across her face, "Friday is tomorrow, Friday is test day."</p>
<p>"Fine, go on to bed."</p>
<p>Max chuckles as Clara and lieutenant exit the room, "I have never in my life met a responsible five year old."</p>
<p>"I don't know where she gets it from."</p>
<p>"So what was for dinner?"</p>
<p>"Tacos."</p>
<p> </p>
<p>After Max had changed out of her uniform the two sat at the dinner table and talked for a few hours about various things. Dani loved listening to Max talk, it didn't matter about what she just enjoyed her. As the night progressed they didn't do anything in particular, they just cuddled up on the couch and watched an old movie until they accidently fell asleep.</p>
<p>Dani's eyes darted back and forth in her sleep as she dreamed a terrible nightmare, she recognized the people but nothing about them was correct. She was shown flashes of another world, violence, treachery, pain; Dani got hurt, real bad. The last thing she saw was the horrified expression of Max as she collapsed to the ground. She shot up on the couch instantly awoken from her dream, she was drenched in sweat and hyperventilating with an unbearable pain in her stomach that lasted mere moments.</p>
<p>Max was woken up from the commotion and tried to calm Dani down the best she could but the giant crack across Max's face only scared her further. "Hey! Hey calm down! You're alright! You're alright. It was just a dream!"</p>
<p>Dani starred as the crack chipped off a portion of her eye, her breathing slowed but was still heavy. She found it difficult to relax her body. "I'm sorry."</p>
<p>Max sighed in relief as she sat back down, "It's okay, did you have a nightmare?" Dani hesitated to answer and ultimately chose not to. "My mom used to have night terrors you know?"</p>
<p>"She did?"</p>
<p>"My dad would sit up with her for hours rockin with her trying to sooth her fears," Max held her arms out beckoning Dani to lay with her.</p>
<p>Dani crawled into her arms and layed on top of Max, "I'm sorry for waking you."</p>
<p>"It's okay, it's something you can't control, it happens." Her attention is broken when her phone starts to ring. Dani grabs it off the coffee table and hands it to her. She answers in a stern voice, "Penalty. Yes sir. I understand. I'll be there in ten minutes." She hangs up and sighs, "I'm being called in, I'm sorry."</p>
<p>She sits up, "It's okay, I understand."</p>
<p>Max kisses her before standing up, "Try and get some rest, i'll text you later."</p>
<p>"Okay, be safe."</p>
<p>"I will."</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0025"><h2>25. Therapy</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>sorry to inform but we are returning back to our friday unload schedule and will no longer update on Wednesdays</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Al Stands before an unmarked building escorted by two men, he had traveled all the way to Mayonako City. His heart was filled with disappointment for what he was about to do. As they made their way to the top floor of the otherwise abandoned building a large door was opened, behind was a lavish office with silk drapes, fine carpet, and a desk that looked as though it was crafted by the gods.</p>
<p>"You're late Mr. Murphy, I do very much hate tardiness," the man's voice was smooth yet rusty. He sat in a leather chair behind the desk facing the window.</p>
<p>"I'm sorry, this meeting was quite rushed, I had no prior warning."</p>
<p>"I like to be addressed by my name Mr. Murphy."</p>
<p>Al swallowed a lump in his throat for he had no idea who he was addressing, this meeting was arranged by a business partner. Al was simply told they could get him into contact with someone who had far more connections then he had.</p>
<p>"You hesitate Mr. Murphy, do you not recognise my voice" the man asked before ever so slowly turning in his chair. The man that sat in it's fine leather was a tall fit japanese man covered in faint scars. His eyes were as grey as a winter's storm, and just as cold. He stared into Al's soul. Though his face was not familiar he knew exactly who it was by the sight of his Calico Cat ears. "Did you really make your way to my city and expect someone other than me?"</p>
<p>Al Immediately knelt before the man, "Forgive me, I haven't quite been thinking clearly the past few months."</p>
<p>"There is no need to kneel Mr. Murphy we are," he pauses, "almost equals here." He leans ever so slightly forward with a faint smile on his face, "Now what could Unity City's most notorious mafia boss need from me?"</p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<p>After three days of waiting Ghost showed no sign of waking up, in fact Annabelle watched as her heart rate slowed little by little everyday. Parker was healing as expected, her wounds were almost completely closed. Though still in pain Sapphire helped her move about and stretch her legs. Later in the evening Annabelle called a meeting in Al's small board room.</p>
<p>"I think it's time we have a difficult discussion."</p>
<p>Sapphire helps ease Parker into her chair, "If we have chinese for dinner again i'm going to kill myself."</p>
<p>Annabelle chuckles a little, "No not dinner," her playful expression turns cold, "Ghost isn't going to wake up." The room was silent Parker begins laughing because it the only response her body will allow, Sapphire stares in stunned silence. "We need to start discussing the next move, we can invite wayward to say their last-"</p>
<p>Sapphire cuts her off with a raised voice, "There won't be a last anything! It's only been a week!"</p>
<p>"Sapphire her heart rate is declining, even if we don't do anything her heart will naturally stop, she'll be dead by morning!"</p>
<p>"You're the doctor! Fix her!"</p>
<p>"I HAVE," she shouts a little too loud, "I've done everything I can, I can't save someone who doesn't want to be saved. She's not fighting the end, she's setting sail with it. The best we can do is surround her with loved ones and ease her into slipping away and bless her with a painless death."</p>
<p>Her knees practically gave out below her, she fell into her chair unable to break her gaze with Annabelle's unable to respond with any of the millions of thoughts racing through her head.</p>
<p>Parker felt something on her cheek, when she touched it she was surprised to feel the tears on her hand she looked as more flowed from her face, "There has to be something we can do, if, if we can just wake her up?"</p>
<p>"It," Annabelle takes a deep breath feeling the weight on her chest, "it doesn't work like that, we can't just jolt her wake she has to want to wake up. I know its hard but we-"</p>
<p>"How could we possibly make that decision? What about her mom's? Fuck i'd call her dad before I made a call like that!"</p>
<p>She takes a moment to fully think about what she needs to do, she stands from her chair refusing to look the two of them in the eye. "You're right, it was cruel of me to ask you. I know what needs to be done."</p>
<p>She walks from the room before they have a moment to process what it was she meant. Within seconds it clicks in Parkers head, "Wait," she screams trying to stand from her chair. Parker almost immediately collapses onto the floor.</p>
<p>"Hey! Calm down, you can't move so suddenly! Think of your stitches!"</p>
<p>"She's going to pull the plug on Ghost!"</p>
<p>Not even bothering to help Parker up Sapphire bolts from the room by the time she reaches ghost she isn't Sapphire anymore. "Stop!" Cheyenne screams as Annabelle places her hand on the life support.</p>
<p>She stares into Cheyenne's eyes with tears rushing out of her own, "We can't keep letting her suffer like this!"</p>
<p>"I, I think I can wake her up!"</p>
<p>"What," she asks, wiping her face.</p>
<p>Cheyenne extends her arms inward, "Do you know who I am?"</p>
<p>At first Annabelle is confused by this question but when she takes a moment to really look at the woman before her she sees the faint glow has vanished and the once gemstone eyes were new hearted purple pupils. "Cheyenne," she asked almost to reassure herself as if she knows she's asking a dumb question.</p>
<p>"You remember me, I not everyone-" before she can finish her sentence Annabelle hugs her tightly. She was shocked at first but eased into wrapping her arms around her as well.</p>
<p>When she pulls away she places her hands on Cheyenne's cheeks, "You look good old friend."</p>
<p>She places her hands on Annabelle's, "I look like Sapphire."</p>
<p>Shaking her head no she smiles, "No, you look like you."</p>
<p>Not knowing how to respond to being seen as her own person Cheyenne pulls away, "Anyway, you remember how my quirk works?"</p>
<p>"Memories right?"</p>
<p>"More or less, I can dip into people's minds. I think I might be able to wake her up. Pull her out like a memory."</p>
<p>"If you fail could it hurt her?"</p>
<p>She rubs the back of her neck, "I don't know, i'll never forgive myself if I don't try though."</p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<p>Dani layed in bed with her eyes barely open, she could no longer escape her dreams, not even during the day. People she had known all her life looked like strangers at first glance, even her own face was that of someone she did not recognize. With each passing day more and more cracks appeared. At first they were only on people but now they were on the walls around her, on every surface, everywhere she looked.</p>
<p>Dani's eyes may have been open but she had yet to notice Clara's presence in the room, "Mommy," she asked in a concerned tone.</p>
<p>She sat up, "What's wrong baby?"</p>
<p>"I tried to wake you up, we're late for school."</p>
<p>Dani looked at the clock, it was ten twenty-three am, she sighed. "I'm sorry," she rubs her eyes as she moves her legs over the edge of the bed, "I think Mommy is getting sick."</p>
<p>Clara scurries out of the room and comes back with her toy doctor kit, "How can I help?"</p>
<p>She rubs the top of Clara's head, "Why don't you go pack a bag, i'm gonna go call your grandmas'."</p>
<p>A look of disappointment spreads across the little girl's face, "Mommy's not sick is she?"</p>
<p>Dani ignores her not knowing how to respond, she walks into the living room tracing the cracks on the walls with her hand. After calling her mothers she sits on the couch silently and barely paying attention when Clemintine walks in and greets her.</p>
<p>"Do I need to take Lieutenant with us?" After Dani doesn't respond Clementine walks around the sofa and kneels in front of her daughter, "Do I need to drop you off at the doctors?"</p>
<p>"I'm fine mom, I just need some rest okay?"</p>
<p>"There is absolutely nothing to be ashamed of, if you need help I will help you! You know that right?"</p>
<p>"It's just a cold mom, I promise."</p>
<p>Clementine sighed before she stood up, she grabbed Lieutenants leash off the door hook and shooed them out the door. "Call me if you need anything." When the door shuts Dani could hear the cracks in the wall deepen, she laid down on the couch in an attempt to rest her eyes.</p>
<p>The first ounce of blissful rest she had received in days abruptly ended after only an hour with the sound of banging on her front door she groaned at the thought but forced herself up to answer it.</p>
<p>"I'm coming, I'm coming," she shouted but the banging only got louder, "I SAID I'M COMING!" as she slammed the door open she was surprised to see Cheyenne's face, the only face she'd see in days that didn't have a crack in it. "Cheyenne? We weren't expecting you back from abroad for a few more months?"</p>
<p>"Shut up," she says as she pushes her way into the house draggin Dani with her. "Come on I need you to focus."</p>
<p>"What, what's going on, do I need to call your sister?"</p>
<p>Cheyenne, briefly distracted from staring at all the cracks, turns to Dani, "My sister?"</p>
<p>"You know, your twin sister? Sapphire? My best friend?"</p>
<p>"Oh my god you've invented a whole ass reality."</p>
<p>She laughs nervously, "What?"</p>
<p>Cheyenne grabs her hand and leads her over to the wall forcing her to feel the cracks, "You see these yes? You're dying Ghost, it's chipping away bit by bit."</p>
<p>She rips her hand form her grasp at the sound of that name, "Youre just another one of these stupid halutinations!" she pushes her hair out of her face as her breathing becomes more jagged, "Of course you wouldn't be home early, you're still studying abroad and I, I really do need help."</p>
<p>"Ghost," Dani turns away, "Look at me, Ghost!"</p>
<p>"THAT'S NOT MY NAME!"</p>
<p>Cheyenne abruptly places her hand on Dani's head showing her glimpses of their shared memories, of the masquerade, of herself, laying in that bed hooked up to all those machines. Dani pushes her off after mere seconds, she stumbles backwards gasping for air.</p>
<p>"I need you to wake up Ghost."</p>
<p>"I-"</p>
<p>"I know part of you remembers, no matter how far you push it down. I won't pretend to know the dream you've given yourself but I need you to realize it's a dream," she extends her hand to help her up, "I need you to wa-"</p>
<p>Dani cuts her off by slapping her hand away, "get away from me!" She stands up and begins to pace, "I- I need-"</p>
<p>"Ghost calm down, sending yourself into a panic attack won't help, just let me wake you up."</p>
<p>"I'm ignoring you!" She grabs a jacket and her car keys and slams the front door behind her. She slips on the jacket as she walks through the damp grass. Once in her car she leans on the steering wheel and sighs before pulling away.</p>
<p>"You can't just ditch me like that you know," Cheyenne says appearing in the passenger seat.</p>
<p>Dani screams and swerves the car almost taking out a mail box but Cheyenne grabs the wheel and helps her adjust. She doesn't say anything she simply stares out the windshield.</p>
<p>"If you would just listen to me I can unlock your memories and once you're aware you can wake up and this weird mundane dream of yours can end," she reaches over to place her hand on Dani's head but she grabs her by wrist.</p>
<p>She clenches on it hard, "Don't touch me. You are nothing more than a vibrant hallucination, I have dealt with schizophrenia my entire life. I am going to drive myself to my doctor. I am going to request a higher dose of my medication. And then I will go about the rest of my life."</p>
<p>"It's nothing more than your brain using a lupole so you don't notice you're asleep."</p>
<p>"Shut up."</p>
<p>"You are dying, you've been in a coma for a week, if you don't wake up you're going to die."</p>
<p>"Shut the fuck up!"</p>
<p>"Your name is Ghost, you are the most wanted person in Foedus, you live in Unity City and you are currently dying in the back of some rundown bar!"</p>
<p>"ENOUGH," she screams but almost immediately lowers her voice, "I know who I am."</p>
<p>Cheyenne sinks into her chair and crosses her arms, "fine, i'll play your game, who are you?"</p>
<p>"My name is Dani Lake, my parents gave me up for adoption after I was born and I was taken into the Lake family when I was three. I live in Phillips County, Montana. And I live a happy life here with my daughter whom I love so much, which is why i'm driving to the doctor because she deserves a mother who's mentally stable enough to take care of her!"</p>
<p>She's almost shocked. She stares at Ghost with what some would call compassion, "You have a daughter?"</p>
<p>"Yes," Dani wipes a few tears from her eyes, "She's the best thing I have in life."</p>
<p>Cheyenne sat back in silence for the rest of the car ride, with a life this good it was going to take a miracle. When the car finally stopped Dani paid no mind to Cheyenne as she got out of the car. Cheyenne of course followed right behind regardless.</p>
<p>The front desk worker greets Dani with a smile, "Ms. Lake, I don't think you have an appointment today. How can I help you?"</p>
<p>"Is there any way I can see him today? I'm having a mental emergency."</p>
<p>"Do I need to call the hospital and have a room readied?"</p>
<p>"I'd like to be evaluated first if that's okay?"</p>
<p>"Okay," she types a few things on her computer, "I might be able to squeeze you in between two sessions, if you could just sit down and wait?"</p>
<p>Dani nods and sits in her favorite chair in the waiting room. She waits for quite some time in complete boredom realizing she didn't grab her phone before she left.</p>
<p>Finally someone exits the office and the woman at the front desk tells her she can go in.</p>
<p>The man, holding Dani's file, sits down with a smile on his face as she walks in. "Ah, Dani! I hear you're having a bit of trouble today?"</p>
<p>She sits down almost immediately while Cheyenne stands in stunned silence, after reclaiming her composure she looks at Dani, "You're therapist is Magma? That's fucked up on several levels man."</p>
<p>He looks up at Cheyenne, "I'm sorry who is this?"</p>
<p>"YOU CAN SEE HER?" Dani shouts abruptly.</p>
<p>"I told you I wasn't a hallucination."</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0026"><h2>26. This Glass house</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Dani stood stunned looking back and forth between her therapist and Cheyenne, "H-Hold on, wait a second."</p>
<p>He stands, "Dani, what's wrong?" he asked in a concerned tone as he watched her lower toward the ground. She placed her hands on her head and stared beyond this world trying to comprehend what was happening around her. Her arms were visibly shaking, he leaned over his desk to look down at her. "Dani, what are we to do during a panic attack?"</p>
<p>Cheyenne leans down beside her and pats her back, "It's okay, now that you know i'm real will you listen to me?" Dani nods faintly. As they stand up together Cheyenne looks at Magma, "It was a mistake coming here, we'll be on our way." She doesn't give him a chance to respond before she exits with Dani in tow.</p>
<p>Dani got in the passenger seat and remained huddled up with her knees to her chest while Cheyenne drove back to the house. When she finally decides to break the silence she refuses to look her in the eye. "When I tried to leave you teleported into my car."</p>
<p>"I did."</p>
<p>She presses her forehead on the glass window, "Am I the one who's not real?"</p>
<p>"No, we're both very real. But just so you know I can't actually teleport in real life. Like I tried to tell you this," she gestures to her surroundings, "all this, it's a dream."</p>
<p>Dani finally shows an emotion other than panic and looks directly at Cheyenne, "But I know who I am! I have memories here!"</p>
<p>"I don't doubt that, but you yourself have sealed away your real memories and fabricated some kind of perfect world for yourself to keep you from realizing you're dying."</p>
<p>"This world isn't perfect."</p>
<p>"It is, and I know it is because Magma, your therapist, he didnt recognize me."</p>
<p>Dani looked at her puzzled, "Why would he, you've never met."</p>
<p>"Dani, that's my father. In our world, the real world, he's my father."</p>
<p>"I know your dad though."</p>
<p>"No you know a man you wish was my father, I bet he's caring and considerate and could never hurt a fly."</p>
<p>"Of course he is, he's your," she sighs, "I just, this is alot to take in. Magic, secret parents, reality, even seeing you teleport it's still hard to believe."</p>
<p>"Trust me I understand, seeing you like this is quite nerve racking."</p>
<p>"Why?"</p>
<p>As they pull into Dani's driveway Cheyenne chuckles, "The hair, the voice, I won't lie, caught me off guard."</p>
<p>"What am I like in your world."</p>
<p>She opens the car door, "Well for starters you're mute, most of the time."</p>
<p>"I'm confused."</p>
<p>Cheyenne chooses not to elaborate as she makes her way inside, once Dani is in the house she shuts and locks the door. "Sit down."</p>
<p>"What?"</p>
<p>"The floor! Sit!" As if it was pure instinct alone Dani immediately sat down on her living room floor with her legs crossed. "Okay let's get started."</p>
<p>"What are you going to do to me?"</p>
<p>"I think if I jump start your memory you'll wake up," she rolls up her sleeves and sits behind her, "Lean back" she says while easing her down. She rests her head on in Cheyenne's lap.</p>
<p>"Is it going to hurt."</p>
<p>"No." she places her hands on Dani's temples and they both close their eyes. Within moments Dani's memories played through her head, though flashes she recognized everyone. Her parents fight, the things her mom said the night David left, meeting Sapphire, the immortal incident, all the fighting and bloodshed, the masquerade.</p>
<p>She shot up with a gasp as she clenched her stomach, she turns around to face Cheyenne who looks disappointed, "I-"</p>
<p>Cheyenne stands with a frustrated expression, "I was sure that would wake you up," she cracks her knuckles and rolls up her sleeves before reaching for Dani, "maybe if I just."</p>
<p>She pulls back trying to control her breathing, "Don't! Don't..."</p>
<p>"What's wrong?"</p>
<p>"I, I need a minute."</p>
<p>"Ghost-"</p>
<p>"Don't call me that," she says abruptly, cutting her off.</p>
<p>"What do you mean?!"</p>
<p>"I don't want to be Ghost anymore!"</p>
<p>Rage began to boil in Cheyenne, she begins to yell, "So what, you, you're choosing not to wake up?"</p>
<p>"This world feels real! Why shouldn't it be? No quirks! No violence! All the kids are safe!"</p>
<p>"YOU'RE DYING!"</p>
<p>"I'M ALREADY DEAD," she takes a deep breath and lowers her tone. she looks away to hide the fact that tears are forming in her eyes, "I'm already dead."</p>
<p>Cheyenne doesn't shy away; she forces Dani to look her in the eyes as tears overflow from the both of them, "Not yet! But you will be if you don't wake up!" Her voice shakes as she speaks, she steps forward, "You can't just leave us all behind!"</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Parker stares at Ghost's limp body with Cheyenne laid next to her, they're both crying. Unfortunately her focus is interrupted by the sound of Ghost flatling. She immediately screams for Annebelle. Without a word she runs in and starts administering CPR</p>
<p>The world around them begins to crack and shatter like a broken mirror, "What's happening." cheyenne shouts; however, the moment those words leave her mouth she knows. "YOU HAVE TO WAKE UP!"</p>
<p>Dani calmly sits down and stares into the abyss between the cracks, "I think it's time I lay down."</p>
<p>"NO!"</p>
<p>"My fight's over Chey. Will you apologize to Clara for me? We never got to finish her training."</p>
<p>Cheyenne can feel the panic taking over as she tries to think; for a split second she has a moment of clarity. "Hug me! Okay? You can have your death but I deserve a hug goodbye!"</p>
<p>Dani stands up and extends her arms a single tear dripped down her face, "Tell everyone how much I loved them!"</p>
<p>"Tell them yourself!" Dani's eyes widen but isn't given a chance to fully react, Cheyenne darts toward her. As she tackles Dani the floor shatters beneath them, she can feel her soul ripped from her body and watches it as she descends into the depths.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Ghost is disoriented, an unbearable ringing in her ear, the blinding lights and a pain she could not even describe in her stomach. Ever so slowly she can begin to hear familiar voices shouting her name. When her eyes adjust to the light the first thing she sees is Annabelle crying on top of her.</p>
<p>Parker limps her way and throws herself on Ghost as Annabelle steps down, "Don't ever scare us like that again!"</p>
<p>Cheyenne sits up, she can't look Ghost in the eye, "I'm sorry." she whispers.</p>
<p>Ghost wants to be mad but at the sight of Annabelle she's filled with an emotion she can't describe, she reaches out to her. Ghost opens her mouth ready to say something but she is unable.</p>
<p>Annabelle smiles at her kindly but Ghost looks away avoiding her gaze and placing her hand on Parker's head instead. Annabelle understands why, she coughs to clear the air, "I think I am in desperate need of rest. If something changes, let me know, I think i'm going to head home."</p>
<p>Cheyenne stands up and hugs her deeply, "Thank you for everything."</p>
<p>"You're the one who woke her up."</p>
<p>"And you saved her life."</p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<p>Al sat in an expensive looking hotel room. He was nervous and deeply ashamed of himself. When the door opened he tensed up and sat straight. He watched as Magma walked toward him with Mimic in tow. At first he ignored Al, simply taking off his coat. He didn't really need it; he just always liked the aesthetics of winter fashion.</p>
<p>"Uh, Magma, sir," Al tried to say through his quivering voice.</p>
<p>Magma shot a look at him that silenced his entire being, As though a muzzle was placed on his soul. Magma continued to speak to Mimic discreetly whispering in her ear. He moved one of the love seats directly in front of Al and sat down with his legs crossed. Mimic stood silently behind him. "Now tell me, the audacity sitting before me, if it wasn't for the check in my pocket I'd kill you where you stand."</p>
<p>Al swallows in an attempt to moisten his throat, "I-"</p>
<p>"Out with it," he howled startling Al.</p>
<p>He takes a deep breath, "I want to make an exchange," Magma rests his head on his hand radiating disinterest in response. "My partner, their name is Lizard Murphy, they were captured by heroes a few months ago and taken into custody. I want to make an exchange to have them released to me."</p>
<p>Magma smiles faintly, "Lizard Murphy," he looks at Mimic, "Why does that name sound familiar?"</p>
<p>"Lizard Murphy was a notorious villain known as Dusk," they say with a smile.</p>
<p>"Dusk, oh I remember now, Weren't you and Actress extended to that mission to help? Could you fill me in," he looks at Al with a deceitful gaze, "I can't seem to recall the details."</p>
<p>"Of course sir! Dusk had quite the amazing quirk, could cause temporary blindness to every living thing within a medium sized radius around them. In fact it even affected Dusk! However, they have such amazing senses, you wouldn't even notice they were blind as well. Dusk was also deeply skilled in weapons and hand to hand combat. I am one of the most skilled fighters in the HIA but I too struggled. If it wasn't for the Actress we'd never have taken them down."</p>
<p>"Incredible, where are they now?"</p>
<p>"Dusk is currently in a reeducation facility, usually it would take at least a year but they've made amazing progress and are scheduled to have their hero debut within the next few months under the name Dawn!"</p>
<p>He claps with a smile on his face "As you can see Dawn has become a remarkable asset, there is nothing you can offer me that would make me want to give them up."</p>
<p>"I know where Ghost Writer and her comrades are hiding."</p>
<p>Magma's eyes widen, within a moment he lunges at Al knocking the chair he was seated in over and pinning him to the ground. Even with four arms Al is unable to push the Man off him. With each passing second he can feel his skin burning with an intensity he can't describe.</p>
<p>"WHERE ARE THEY," he screams as his body temperature rises. Everyday Magma loses more and more patience. After his failure at the masquerade the commission began putting pressure on him to take care of this quickly before they appoint someone who can.</p>
<p>Al pushes back on Magma, "I want my Partner back," he utters through gritted teeth.</p>
<p>Mimic stands silently waiting for an order, Magma was a prideful man who would never ask for assistance, if they were to step in it would be a punishment waiting to happen. So they stood there awaiting instruction like a 'good little hero'. Except they weren't, outwardly they looked calm and remained quiet but on the inside Mimic was fighting back the urge to scream. 'How dare this man make demands, how dare he disobey Magma's orders, how dare he lay his hands on him. Magma should kill him, burn him alive, I want to kill him. I could make a clone, I could slit this four armed freak's throat while he's distracted!' Mimics eye twitches as several thoughts stream through their head.</p>
<p>"Tell me where they are or I'll burn you alive," he stares into Al's eyes as a few droplets of Lava drip from his mouth landing on his cheek.</p>
<p>He winces in pain but refuses to back down, "I. Want. My. Partner." with each word Magma can feel Al's grip tighten until he is kicked in the stomach and sprung backwards. Al stands up dusting off his shoulders, "You have my demands, meet them or I walk away."</p>
<p>Magma lands on the bedside table crushing it beneath him, the anger, and lava visibly boiling over. Mimic can feel the room's temperature rise, the second they notice the smoke from his breath they put their hands up to gain magma attention, "Sir, the fire detectors." Magma ignores them so Mimic simply walks around the room opening all the windows. They make sure the blinds are still down though. It would be troublesome if a tabloid saw Magma in a hotel room with a known mafia boss.</p>
<p>"Why don't I bring Dawn here, in chains, and I force you to watch as I kill them ever so slowly. If you walk out of this room I will assure you they will die in the most painful of ways. And when I am done with Dawn I'll hunt down their family. Everyone will have little accidents and it would be all your fault."</p>
<p>Al grinds his teeth as every muscle in his body clenches, "Stop calling them that."</p>
<p>"What, Dawn? Do you not like their hero name?" He begins to pool lava in his hands.</p>
<p>"If you are going to imprison someone at least do them the honor by using their real name!"</p>
<p>Magma laughs in a thunderous tone, "Do you really think we're going to let a hero walk around with a name like Lizard?? They've already been issued a new identity, if I am to refer to them by a name, a real name, I'll refer to them as Lúi Marcaigh!"</p>
<p>Something in Al snaps, any form of rationality draining from his body, before he can think or even say anything Mimic's watch begins to beep, "Sir you have a meeting to attend to, it would be best if we handled this quickly. The commission does not care for tardiness."</p>
<p>Magma straightens his stance exhaling through his nose with a ploom of smoke, "very well."</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Al's driver Mac stands patiently outside the hotel,  Al's last words before entering echo in his mind over and over again. 'If I don't come out, warn them.' He watched the front exit diligently waiting, a few other of his men were posted and watching every available exit just in case.</p>
<p>The men were communicating through ear pieces, most were talking about irrelevant things out of boredom, most of them talked about weird shows their kids made them watch.</p>
<p>"Kyle, i'm just saying I don't think gangster Dog and Ruby is a kids show, are you actually watching it? Some fucked up shit happens in it. Just because it's animated doesnt mean its a kids show."</p>
<p>"Can you all shut the fuck up, we're on the job."</p>
<p>"Sorry Mac," they all say in unison.</p>
<p>"Also Kyle youre a dumb ass, any show on Mature Dive isnt appropriate for your three year old. The channel is called Mature Dive for fucks sake."</p>
<p>"Hey! It plays baby shit during the day!"</p>
<p>"Yeah and then it switches audiences past eight!" he stops listening to Kyle's response when he finally sees Magma exit the hotel. "Everyone quiet, Magma is leaving, does anyone have eyes on Al? Joan, what's happening?"</p>
<p>Mac was afraid something like this would happen so he had Joan stay in the hotel room across from where Al was. "I didn't see Al when he opened the door, I'm busting it down!" she takes the safety off her gun before walking over, she effortlessly kicks down the door in a swift motion. When the door slams open she hears a string snap. "Oh sh-"</p>
<p>Mac stares in horror as the windows shatter. A room on the top floor just exploded, he knew exactly which on. Without delay he hops into his car and bolts. He disconnects from the others and calls someone in the bar. "GET THEM OUT, GET THEM ALL OUT OF THERE," he screams into his ear piece barreling down the highway. He doesn't know if Magma got the intel out of him, and he sure doesn't know how fast Magma's people can mobilize. He has to get there first and help them escape.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>A young man busts into Al's office and starts wiping his computer while burning every piece of paper he can find. A few others start piling supplies and equipment into a truck.</p>
<p>Melady, the young woman who runs the bar when Al is away busts into the makeshift hospital room, "Everyone out! We have to move!"</p>
<p>At the sound of the woman's panic Sapphire flicks to the front, something about danger always puts her on the front line. "What's happening," she asks while the woman catches her breath.</p>
<p>"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry, he just wanted to save Lizard-" Sapphire cuts the woman off by grabbing her by the neck, "Please you don't understand."</p>
<p>"What's going on?"</p>
<p>"Al left to negotiate with Mr. Magma!"</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0027"><h2>27. The Raid</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Sapphire tightens her grip around the woman's neck, "What do you mean he went to negotiate with Magma." Melady can't answer her, she burns herself trying to remove Sapphire's hand from her neck.</p><p>One of Al's men walks into the room with a stern gaze, "That's enough, we have to move."</p><p>"I'm not going anywhere," She further tightens her grip as Melady starts to lose consciousness.</p><p>"Then you can stay here and watch your injured friends die, if you don't leave no one does. The other workers won't protect them." She drops the woman, "That's what I thought. Now luckily we were prepared in case the deal went south. No deal, no Ghost Writer. Now we Move."</p><p>Sapphire picks up Ghost gently, she would wince in pain if she could, "I want a deep explanation for all this."</p><p>He hands Parker her crutches and helps her stand, "Which you will get, when your all safe!"</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>Magma sat patiently in the back of a police van surrounded by his task force members. Smoke Bomb and Mimic sat on either side of him The Actress made sure Max, Silver Tongue sat next to her. The rest of the seats were filled with policemen.</p><p>Magma did his best to control his breathing so as to not fill the van with smoke, "We are all here, we are going to enter as a unit at my lead!"</p><p>"Yeah, all except for Extinguish," Actress exclaims in a snarky tone.</p><p>"WE DON'T NEED NEIL!"</p><p>Max flinches at his sudden rage, the Actress squeezes her hand in reassurance. Max takes a deep breath before putting on her mask and clipping her Pack into place, she tightens the straps doing her best not to look him in the eye.</p><p>"Mr. Magma, we're nearing the target," the driver shouts, tapping on the divider glass.</p><p>"Been awhile since we were on a good old fashion raid, just like the good ol days right Mimic," Smoke Bomb raises her hand for a high five but the sudden glare from Magma ruins the moment.</p><p>"I am bulletproof, I am Fireproof, I am immune to Ghost Writers quirk," Max whispers to herself. She did not have time to sew in her words before leaving so chews up the paper and moves it under her tongue. She tightens her mask just in case.</p><p>The second the Van stops Magma pushes open the door, "Silver behind me, everyone else take cover!"</p><p>Mimic Smoke bomb and Actress stand behind the riot shields of the policeman they were assigned to. Mimic makes three sparrow clones and sends them out to survey the area.</p><p>Magma walks up directly to the second hand bar's entrance and kicks it down, "Surrender yourselves or face the consequences!"</p><p>Sitting on the counter was Mac, swirling a glass of expensive scotch, "Morning Magma, get em boys." He falls backwards behind the counter as seven men pop up holding automatic rifles. Magma does not flinch as they begin to unload their clips however, under normal circumstances bullets melt before even reaching his flesh, Magma feels one go directly through his left shoulder. It was followed by one that pierced his right knee and by the time one grazed his cheek he had finally reacted by ducking for cover. He is immediately protected by one the shield bearing policemen. The bullets bounce off Silver as if she's made of rubber.</p><p>"What the hell was that," the policeman protecting Magma shouts.</p><p>"Theyre not using regular bullets, what ever the fuck that was it's made of something with a high melting point."</p><p>Silver Tongue rushes into the building without hesitation, the Men try to take her out but quickly realize that shooting her is doing more damage to them then her. Two of them are taken out by their own ricocheting bullets.</p><p>As she takes on the men Mimic takes the opportunity to send in two clones of herself to help in the fight. The Actress tosses in two devices that begin releasing a purple toned gas that causes an immense amount of paranoia in the men. It did not affect Silver because her mask filtered the air and the clones remained unfazed because they don't require air. Silver notices Mac try to escape. Seeing everyone collapse in the gas she decides not to wait for orders and charges after him.</p><p>The policemen fasten their gas masks and funnel into the bar to apprehend those who are downed as Silver forces her way into the back she chases Mac as he runs through the kitchen before abruptly stopping.</p><p>Mac holds his hands up and slowly turns around, "You know I usually make an effort never to fight a woman shorter than me."</p><p>"Then don't resist," she slowly reaches for the handcuffs clipped to her belt.</p><p>"But that ruins the fun," he takes a few steps backwards till he's standing over the kitchen floor drain. "Till next time Shella," he salluts her before turning into a mysterious green liquid and falls down the drain.</p><p>"Shit!"</p><p>Magma slams open the kitchen door, "What are you standing around for, search the place!"</p><p>"Yes sir!" She jumps into action and begins looking around the bar along with a few policemen. Other than the five men in their custody the entire bar was empty. They searched every room, cabinet, and desk drawer; not a single thing was left behind or forgotten.</p><p>Magma stared at the computer screen on Al's desk, everything was wiped except for a single word document that read, 'We are not as dumb as you think we are.' in a moment of pure rage he swipes everything off the desk letting out a hardy yell. No one looks him in the eye as he walks out of the bar.</p><p>Silver stood outside giving a report of what happened when Magma grabs her by the suit and lifts her up to eye level, "What happened?"</p><p>She holds onto his wrists trying to hold herself up enough to keep from choking on her own suit collar, "H-he turned into some kinda liquid he got away!"</p><p>"Your quirk lets you do anything to your own body, why didn't you follow him?"</p><p>"My quirk is very precise if I was to completely morf my body into something like that I could be stuck like that forever. If I don't have a mouth I can't deactivate!"</p><p>He tosses her to the ground, "Useless! Actress," he screams to get her attention, as she steps out of the bar she looks annoyed.</p><p>"What~" she yells back, dragging out her words.</p><p>"How long does the gas last?"</p><p>"Usually an hour."</p><p>"Usually?"</p><p>"It varies person to person, depending on the level of personal trauma. At most it will last three days. These guys are just low level thugs, I doubt they are too emotionally damaged so yeah, about an hour. Maybe two."</p><p>"The second one becomes aware, interrogates him."</p><p>"Me?"</p><p>"OF COURSE NOT," he screams but immediately lowers his voice in a sigh, "Silver Tongue, it will always be Silver Tongue. You observe her so we don't have a repeated incident." He rubs the bridge of his nose, "If I don't have a location on Writer the commission is gonna want my head, and I'm taking you all with me. So get. It. Done."</p><p>Once he is out of hearing distance she scoffs, "Whatever you say King Magmodious." She crosses her arms and looks down at Silver, "You okay there kid?"</p><p>She unclips her mask and spits out her paper, "I'm fine."</p><p>"I can't believe he got shot like a little bitch boy." Silver can't help but snort in response, "There she is!"</p><p>"Ms. Actress, the transport has been loaded."</p><p>"Finally, Come on Silver Tongue lets go relax for an hour, we're on interrogation duty!"</p><p> </p><p>Magma stands letting out as much smoke as he can before he's forced back into one of the cars, he exhales deeply and swipes at it to move it away from his face when he spots a woman across the road staring in horror. She wasn't like the other bystanders that gathered. He looks at the man next to him, "You see that woman? The one with the horn?"</p><p>"Yes sir."</p><p>"Arrest her."</p><p>The man looks at him with a confused gaze, "I-" he takes a moment to choose his next sentence carefully, "May I ask why?"</p><p>"Look at her face, in every group of bystanders after an incident you will see the following; Local old women gossiping about what might have happened, some people who are big fans of a present hero, and just those who were nearby and curious. That woman looks horrified, now why would a civilian look on with that kind of expression. During an incident I can understand, but right now it's calm, minor casualties. She might be involved with one of the two men who died or really anyone who is here but she's smart enough not to approach."</p><p>The officer nods and makes his way to the crowd, "You with the horn!"</p><p>Annabelle flinches but almost immediately puts on a face smile, "Yes officer?"</p><p>He yanks her out of the crowd, "You're under arrest!"</p><p>"What? I haven't done anything!"</p><p>"Do not resist or risk further consequences!" Annabelle stops struggling and walks calmly as she's escorted closer to the other cars, "Silver Tongue?"</p><p>She turns at the sound of his voice right before she gets into one of the police cars, "Yes?"</p><p>"It would be unwise to transport her with the ones under the influence of the Actress' gas, may she be transported with you?"</p><p>Before she can respond Actress pokes her head out of the car, "Yeah toss her in but now if she rides with us we can't have a police escort sense Silver here will have to sit up front."</p><p>"Very well," after placing Annabelle into the car he takes the squad car's license plate number. "I'll fill out the paperwork when I get back to the station, when you arrive at your agency call us so we can send someone to collect the car."</p><p>"Sounds good," Actress hops out of the passenger seat so she can drive, once everyone is situated she pulls away. She looks at Annabelle through her rear view mirror, "You got a name?"</p><p>"Annabelle."</p><p>"I didn't see you during all the commotion Annabelle, where were you hiding?"</p><p>"I was a bystander."</p><p>"They flag bystanders all the time you got nothing to worry about, my friend here Silver Tongue will just" she wiggles her fingers in a vague gesture, "truth spell yah to prove you weren't involved and you'll be on your way!"</p><p>She swallows a lump in her throat and does her best to remain calm, "You have a truth seeking quirk?"</p><p>"Something like that."</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>A knock echoes through the backdoor of Wayward, Mikki cautiously opens the door making sure to conceal the shotgun in her left hand, "This is private property."</p><p>"I know that, it's just less suspicious if I use the back door."</p><p>She raises an eyebrow, "Do I know you?"</p><p>"It's me Mac," her expression is unchanged, "I officiated Al and Lizard's wedding!"</p><p>She springs open the door, "Uncle Malcolm! I barely recognized you, you've lost weight!"</p><p>He kisses her on the cheek, "I have," he walks in closing the door behind, "Did they make it here okay?"</p><p>"Yeah they're all perfectly fine except Ghost popped a few of her stitches. Axel is taking care of it, they've always been good with minor medical stuff."</p><p>"How are they doing, emotionally?"</p><p>"They feel betrayed, honestly so do I, how could Al do something like this?"</p><p>"Yeah that's what I wanna know," Sapphire shouts leaning over the railing.</p><p>He shields his eyes, "Sapphire, glowing with rage I see!"</p><p>"Where is he?"</p><p>"Dead," Mikki gasps dropping the gun, "Actually I should have worded that differently, he's probably dead." He picks up the shotgun and hands it back to Mikki, "Why don't we all go upstairs, you all deserve an explanation."</p><p> </p><p>Everyone sits around the table with an angered expression, except Ghost, she's laying on the sofa. Mac loosens his tie, "I won't lie to you, Al walked into that meeting with Magma with every intention to betray you all. A while ago Lizard, his partner, was arrested and has since been in custody. Lizard was strong so we all assumed they'd be sent to the commission to be, well, repurposed. Al was going to exchange you three for Lizard."</p><p>Sapphire slams her fist on the table, "He could have asked us for help!"</p><p>"He was desperate, lost the love of his life, if you knew the love of your life was behind bars wouldn't you do just about anything to get them back?" She glances at Mikki and leans back into her chair with crossed arms. "That's what I thought. However Al knew there was a chance the deal would go south and Magma would simply torture him for the location. So if he didn't get Lizard, Magma didn't get you. The second the bomb went off-"</p><p>"Whoa wait, bomb," Parker exclaims abruptly.</p><p>"I'm not really sure on the details but Magma and their partner walked out of the hotel and next thing we know there was an explosion. We went into gear and went about plan B, which was getting yall out before they were even close."</p><p>Mikki covers her mouth as she begins to sob uncontrollably, Sapphire pulls her into a hug, "I hate to say it but i'm both extremely hurt but I understand his motives, I just wish he had come to us for help."</p><p>Ghost snaps her fingers to get everyone's attention, she does her best to sit up, "Is there anyway this can be traced back to Wayward?" she signs weakly.</p><p>"No, as much as he would have wanted to have Mikki in his Will she isn't, if he's confirmed dead it goes to the highest bidder."</p><p>"Bidder," Mikki asks after wiping her face.</p><p>"It's in his will that the bar will go to a public auction, the profit will go to some local charity."</p><p>"So what now?"</p><p>"You my friend are gonna heal your wounds, I'm gonna round up my men and regroup, the rest of yah, lay low." he stands up and walks toward the kitchen when Sapphire stops him.</p><p>"If you think i'm just gonna sit around!"</p><p>He pokes her in the chest with each passing word, "Lay. Low. Shella."</p><p>She grabs his hand raising her body temperature, "Don't, ever, do that, again."</p><p>He rips his hand from her grip, "Just lay low a little while," he sits on the kitchen sink, "I mean it!" he pulls his legs in close before turning into his liquid state and goes down the drain.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0028"><h2>28. Loud Mouth</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Annabelle sits patiently in the interrogation room by herself, discreetly she activated her quirk so she can see through the two way Mirror. Behind it are two heroes she doesnt recognize along with the two women who drove her there. She can't hear what they are talking about but assumes it's not anything related to her sense they are laughing, everyone except the truth spell woman, she looks disinterested in the conversation.</p>
<p>When she noticed the two women left the room she assumed they were coming to start so she did her best to tried and slow her breathing to calm down. The door clicked open and she smiled.</p>
<p>The actress taps the button on a recording device as she sets it down. "Hi, just to introduce ourselves for the record I'm the Actress, that there is Silver Tongue." they sit down, "Now you do have a right to a lawyer, I understand if you want one present but I only have two questions and you can be sent on your way."</p>
<p>"That won't be necessary," she's trying her best to not to raise suspicion and prays to whatever god will listen that the questions will not lead her to speak about Ghost.</p>
<p>"Alright great! Silver if you would be so kind?"</p>
<p>Silver places her hand on Annabelle's. She feels no real pull to tell the truth, she waits patiently for a question.</p>
<p>"What were you doing standing outside the bar?"</p>
<p>The second the question was asked Annabelle felt as though she lost all sense of free will, "I was watching."</p>
<p>"Hm, yeah I worded that very broadly, um, I was told you looked afraid. Why did you look afraid?"</p>
<p>"I feared for the safety of my friends."</p>
<p>The Actress narrows her eyes slightly. She taps the record button off, she stands up and taps the glass to get the heroes' full attention . "Have someone send over a public defender please."</p>
<p>Silver removes her hand, Annabelle takes the opportunity to lie her ass off, "That's not necessary, I have many friends in that area as well as knowing some of the older women in the crowd. I hate to say it but where there are heroes there is tragedy. Though I wasn't there during but I'm sure we all heard the gunshots, I only assumed the situation could get worse!"</p>
<p>"Would you mind saying that again with Silver's hand on yours?"</p>
<p>"I-"</p>
<p>"That's what I thought."</p>
<p>She looks down as tears stream down her face, "What's the point of calling a lawyer if you're just going to make me confess to everything?"</p>
<p>She taps the record button, "I will ask once more, do you want a lawyer?"</p>
<p>"No."</p>
<p>Silver places her hand on Annabelles once more as the Actress cancels her request for the public defender, she sits down and calmly asks, "What are your ties to the Second Hand Bar?"</p>
<p>"The owner Al pays me, as a doctor I come whenever I am called and I patch up whoever he presents to me."</p>
<p>"How long have you been doing this?"</p>
<p>"A few years, I'm not sure exactly how long or how often, I don't keep track."</p>
<p>"Were you treating Ghost Writer?"</p>
<p>"I was."</p>
<p>"Where did she go?"</p>
<p>"I don't know."</p>
<p>Actress takes a moment, "Where do you think she might have gone?"</p>
<p>Tears rushing down her face she opens her mouth, "She most likely retreated to wa-" but she is cut off as Silver explodes into a coughing fit letting go of Annabelle's hand who quickly silenced herself.</p>
<p>"Are you alright?"</p>
<p>She wipes her hand on her pants, "I'm sorry I," she coughs a few more times, "Wrong pipe I guess." one of the heroes from the other room brings her a glass of water and hand sanitizer. She places her hand back on Annabelle's, "I'm sorry, ask your question again."</p>
<p>"It's alright, it happens. Now, where do you think she might have gone?"</p>
<p>Annabelle no longer feels the same intensity she felt moments ago, she looks at the Actress, "She most likely retreated to Wayford, there's a safe house there."</p>
<p>"Do you know where it is?"</p>
<p>"No I do not."</p>
<p>She leans back in her chair, "Of course not. Do you have any ties to Ghost Writer past treating her wounds?"</p>
<p>"No."</p>
<p>She sighs before standing and gesturing for Silver to follow her out the room. "Okay, Wayford, that's a lead, I think that's up in the northern part of the city. I'll talk to Magma about sending someone."</p>
<p>"What about her?"</p>
<p>"Most likely get charged with harboring."</p>
<p>"But she didn't harbor, just patched them up?"</p>
<p>"Still makes her an accessory. It doesn't matter though that's not our call. Just sit with her for a while, I'll call and have an officer come collect her."</p>
<p>She waits till Actress is out of sight before looking at the paper she had concealed in her hand, 'I promised Mikki I wouldn't involve Wayward,' she drops it into a nearby trash can, 'I am a woman of my word. No matter what anyone thinks of me I will keep my promises.'</p>
<p>Annabelle sits quietly as Silver walks back into the room, she wants to ask so many questions, she wants to know why she let her lie. She studied the young hero's face; she had eyes that only mirrored exhaustion, one of the boys in Wayward had a similar look in his eyes. She wondered if the reason she let her lie was because the hero who stood before her was raised in Wayward.</p>
<p>It wasn't unlikely, Wayward raised and watched after children from all walks of life, that's what Mikki told her the day they met. Most grew up like everyone else, some became villains, a few heroes. It wasn't until this moment that Annabelle realized just how much she missed Wayward as she began to relive old memories.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Al drops Annabelle and Ghost off in front of the just closed Wayward. They stood there unsure of their surroundings when a young woman busts through the door, she looks rundown, she's covered in flour and her hair is a mess. She plops a one year old baby into Ghost's arms that catches her completely off guard. "Annabelle Ghost! Adults!"</p>
<p>Ghost holds the baby with outstretched arms and looks at Annabelle in fear as she picks up the bags and walks into the cafe.</p>
<p>"Ms. Belladona it was so nice of you to let us stay here!"</p>
<p>She rips off her apron and tosses it on the counter, "Oh don't call me that, Mikki is fine! But I'm oh so happy to have some extra hands!" She leads them up the stairs with the widest smile on her face. When she opened the door into the common room the three were greeted with the bustling sounds of several children running around and playing. Mikki picks up an air horn and presses the button. Every child stops in their tracks "It's five o'clock! Who's going home?" several kids shoot up their hands, "Alright head home before the sun fully sets!"</p>
<p>the three move out of the doorway as most of the kids start snatching up backpacks and giggling as they run down the stairs. What's left is about fifteen kids. "I thought this was a cafe," Annabelle asks.</p>
<p>"Hm? Uh, I mean technically, the cafe is more of a front so we have enough money to feed everyone," Annabelle follows her into the kitchen leaving Ghost in the common room still holding a baby. "Wayward is kinda like a foster house but not really. For most we're a free daycare, overnight stay, or for a few a runaway shelter."</p>
<p>"Must be a lot of work."</p>
<p>"It is, and I never get a second to myself but," she leans on the counter, "What's the alternative? Send them back to abusive homes or let them sit all alone while their parents have to work all day?"</p>
<p> </p>
<p>A young child looks up at Ghost, "That's not how you hold a baby." She looks down at them with a raised eyebrow unable to respond. they simply hold out their arms to take her, Ghost obliges and hands the twelve year old the baby. "My name's Blaine, this is Momo." they sit down on the floor with her in his lap.</p>
<p>Ghost sits down as well and watches as Blaine shows her how to properly hold Momo. After a demonstration they hand her back to Ghost.</p>
<p>"Can you not speak?" Ghost shakes her head no as she corresses Momo. "Is that why you wear a mask?" she shakes her head no.</p>
<p>A young blonde girl approaches them, "Blaine stop bothering our guest, go annoy Aiko or something, he's hiding in his room again."</p>
<p>"Fine," they say in a dragged out tone.</p>
<p>She takes Momo from her, "You're really tall for a teenager." Ghost holds up her hands sticking up ten fingers and then puts one down. "Nineteen?" she nods, "Oh okay, well my name's Toga, I'm going to put Momo in her play area then i'll find you a note pad so you can actually talk to people."</p>
<p>After Mikki and Annabelle finish discussing their arrangement there they come back to Ghost, "What happened to Momo?" Mikki shouts slightly panicked.</p>
<p>"Toga took her," she signs to Annabelle.</p>
<p>"She said 'Toga took her.'"</p>
<p>Mikki sighs in relief, "Oh, I'm sorry for yelling. I'm trying to work on that.</p>
<p>Annabelle and Ghost stayed there for the next year, Ghost started gaining quite a following while Annabelle pushed through school and helped Mikki as much as she could. Annabelle stuck by them for so long. When Parker came into the picture they ended up moving out of Wayward. With her help and then soon after Sapphire's they became a full fledged activist group.</p>
<p>However she started noticing small things, little by little she was included less and less with the group's plans until she couldn't stand it anymore. She snuck into Ghost's office and read through her plans. They weren't activists anymore. It was no longer about preaching to the people, it was about revenge. She read into their plans, first it would start with the rallies, then demonstrations, and attacks. Each phase of their timeline felt worse than the last.</p>
<p>As she read through the plans she heard Ghost and Parker walking down the hall. She quickly stuffed the papers back into the desk, "There you are! I've been looking everywhere for you," she exclaims as the two walk in.</p>
<p>"You have?"</p>
<p>She kisses Ghost on the cheek, "You said you wanted to go out to dinner tonight, I wanted to know what you'd wear so we could match!"</p>
<p>"Oh, I'm just wearing that suit you bought me."</p>
<p>"Okay, I'm gonna go get ready then." she steps out and calmly shuts the door behind her, she keeps her composure but the second she gets to her room she breaks down into tears. She no longer knew Ghost as well as she thought she did.</p>
<p>Quickly and without hesitation she pulls a duffle bag out of her closet and starts tearing through dresser drawers and stuffing it blindly. She mistakenly opens one of Ghost's and upon picking up a handful of shirts she sees a little black box. She loses her ability to stand and collapses onto the floor still holding onto the drawer. She found it hard to breathe as her mind shifted between her conflicted feelings. Her love for Ghost, and her fear of villains.</p>
<p>'Ghost is going to propose tonight, and then she will spend the next two years preparing for the mass murder of every major hero on the island.' she stared down with tears flowing down her face. She knew Ghost hated heroes but she didn't realize her hatred ran so deep. She knew Al did some bad things, so did the people she helped patch up but never anything as horrifying as what they were planning. And even though she was unaware of it till this moment she was still connected.</p>
<p>Annabelle left that night and tipped the heroes off, she didn't give them any details just to simply look into the 'activist' Ghost Writer. She hoped the heroes would stop her before she did something that would make her a true villain.</p>
<p>Sitting in the interrogation room at the HIA hero agency she knew without a doubt they would fail at stopping Ghost. And now, even though she never wanted to be, she was an accessory to Ghost's crimes. All because she couldn't watch her die, and she lied because she couldn't betray Mikki. She looked up at Silver, the hero before her, and wondered if she had a similar reason to hers.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Parker lays out on the common room floor doing advanced yoga poses to stretch out her back and leg muscles. Blaine and Aiko do their best to replicate it but are failing miserably, "Jesus laying in bed for a few days really makes you stiff."</p>
<p>Ghost stares at her with a pouting expression as she's confined to the sofa, "stop rubbing it in."</p>
<p>"Hey! At least be happy you can sit up right! Give it another week and you'll be all healed! I mean it would be nice if we had more of that jerky but even I don't want to stoop as low as buying it from that Calico Bastard, No offence Hikaru," she shouts.</p>
<p>She pops her head out of the kitchen, "I don't associate with that man!"</p>
<p>"Anyway while you are in sofa jail i'm going to get into tip top shape for our next mission."</p>
<p>"Mission? Mac said to lay low!"</p>
<p>"Yeah fuck that guy okay? We suddenly have a great opportunity with Unity Day coming up."</p>
<p>"You want to attack during the unity day festival? Won't they be expecting not only us but literally every villain in the city to try something?"</p>
<p>"Yep, which is why Magma is going on some weird mission, he thinks we'll be distracted attacking the festival but in reality we'll be following him."</p>
<p>"What is he doing?"</p>
<p>"The entire thing is super fishy, he's picking up a special package at Port Bewilderbeast. We are gonna intercept him in the tunnel which according to the city will be closed during the festival. But the official route, as so listed in the report I hacked into, has them driving right through. We take out the toll guy, make sure all the cameras are off. And intercept them on their way back. We take out Magma and if we're lucky the 'package' is something cool so added bonus."</p>
<p>Blaine snickerss to themself, "Y'all are going on a heist?"</p>
<p>"I guess you could say that."</p>
<p>"I heard Aiko got to pick the last code word, can I pick this one?"</p>
<p>She changes to her next pose, "Sure."</p>
<p>"Bite Mark!"</p>
<p>"Sounds good to me."</p>
<p>"So you and Sapphire are going to do this by yourselves?"</p>
<p>"What's the worst that could happen?"</p>
<p>"You could die, you know, like how I almost did!" She signs her words a little more aggressively than normal, "You don't even have a drone ready!"</p>
<p>"Ghost we can't pass up this opportunity, we failed at the masquerade, the best thing we can do is to get back out there and let our followers know that we weren't defeated!"</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0029"><h2>29. Unknown Consequences</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Nearing the anniversary of the islands founding Unity City opens one of the biggest festivals in the world. It lasts three days, it opens the eve of Unity Day and will continue to thrive. Hundreds of stands and games and a few pop up rides are set up. Though everyone begged Mikki to let them attend, she refused. Without the symbol of peace it was likely to end in devastation.</p>
<p>However in the middle of the night all of the wayward kids funneled into Aiko's bedroom, "I really don't wanna do this."</p>
<p>"Don't be a pussy Aiko," Blaine says opening the window.</p>
<p>"But Mikki said-"</p>
<p>Hikaru cuts him off, "Aiko no ones going to attack during opening night, if a villain attacks it will be midday tomorrow when the most people will be there!"</p>
<p>"I feel like we collectively should be above sneaking out."</p>
<p>Blaine climbs out the window first and helps Clara through. "Look man if you wanna stay behind be my guest, just don't snitch on us." Blaine says while making direct eye contact as they help Axel out the window.</p>
<p>"What's it gonna be man? You in or out?"</p>
<p>Aiko fidgets in place, almost subtly bouncing. "If we get caught you forced me to go," he says while climbing out of the window.</p>
<p>The four of them follow Blaine down the few stairs, very carefully they let down the ladder as to not make a clashing noise that could wake up Mikki.</p>
<p>After hikaru climbs out of the window she closes it just enough for them to be able to get back in before dawn. She tosses Axel their backpack, "You Are incharge of our shit cause I trust you the most. Blaine you're buying our passes cause you're the only one with a fake ID."</p>
<p>"I could always get you guys one."</p>
<p>Axel covers Clara's ears, "Shhh! You'll corrupt her." she laughs and pushes him off as they walk down the street.</p>
<p>Hikaru pulls out her phone, "Looks like we're gonna miss Almight's speech about, I don't know, world peace or some bullshit; Not mad about it. But other than that all the rides and stands will be open. Remember we won't be able to come back to the festival so no buyers remorse, if you want it get it."</p>
<p>"Are we splitting up," Aiko asks.</p>
<p>"We're all gonna hang for the first two hours then me and Clara are gonna dip and do couple shit. After that I don't care what you guys do."</p>
<p>"Fair."</p>
<p>They walked around for two hours buying snacks and various things from the shopping area. Once they had reached the end Hikaru and Clara went off to go on some rides. Blaine and Axel accidently left Aiko behind when they went to go play some of the prize games.</p>
<p>He walked around nervous and a little angry at himself for leaving his cell in Axel's bag, he knew they were all to meet up at the entrance at three am but for right now he had no idea where anyone was.</p>
<p>Aiko picked a random stand to ask for help, he placed his hands on the counter, "Hey can i borrow your phone, I lost my friends."</p>
<p>The clerk ignored him, rolling her eyes. A boy waiting in line holds out their phone "You can borrow mine."</p>
<p>He looks up at the boy, he was almost a foot taller than himself. Unknowingly he found himself blushing at the sight of him. The multicolored lights glicened off the boy's dark skin as if he was layered in gold dust. Nervously he takes the phone, "Thanks," his voice cracked as he spoke and he felt his soul leave his body.</p>
<p>"No problem."</p>
<p>He dialed the number but after almost a minute he realized no one was going to pick up, he handed the phone back. "They're just deaf I guess, i'll find them eventually."</p>
<p>"You know I actually got ditched by my friends too, wanna be rebellious and hang out together despite them?"</p>
<p>"S-sure! I'm Aiko by the way," he holds his hand out to shake the boy's hand.</p>
<p>"Tapa," the second he reached out to take Aiko's hand an ounce of fear flashed in his eyes. Before it was too late Aiko quickly retracted. Tapa wasn't offended by this, just startled.</p>
<p>"Sorry for a second I lived in a world where I was quirkless," he looks away almost ashamed.</p>
<p>"Oh, I get it, it's no big deal. If it's alright to ask, what is your quirk?"</p>
<p>"Oh uh, I tend to spike out, like a pufferfish I guess."</p>
<p>"That's kinda metal actually! Personally I have a common teleportation quirk. I can only really blink up to like 24 feet though."</p>
<p>Aiko laughs lightly, "Spike and the blinker sounds like a cool band name."</p>
<p>"It totally does!"</p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<p>Blaine and Axel walked around looking for another game that had prizes they wanted when they noticed a group of screaming girls. It wasn't out of fear, they were fangirls. Curious, they approached.</p>
<p>Upon further inspection they realized they were screaming in front of pro heroes, specifically for Hawks; Axel rolled their eyes, "Ugh look at him, and his stupid goatee. Bastard."</p>
<p>"What did Hawks ever do to you?" Axel looked at blaine with complete disgust, "Youre right im sorry, Hawks is a stupid hero and anyone who likes him is just a horny teenager."</p>
<p>"EXACTLY," Axel turns slightly to look behind them, "Right Ai- where's Aiko?"</p>
<p>Blaine turns around, "Hikaru's gonna kill us."</p>
<p>They take off their bag and pull out one of the phones, "I'll just call him."</p>
<p>"Axel."</p>
<p>"Hm?"</p>
<p>"Axel we have everyone's phones."</p>
<p>Axel takes a moment to move through the five stages of grief before putting their phone back, "where was the last time we saw him?"</p>
<p>"I'm gonna be honest, I have no idea. I was too busy winning you prizes in the hopes you'd admit you liked me."</p>
<p>Axel holds up a finger silencing them, "No shut up, i'm not ready to unpack that right now."</p>
<p>"You always say that unless your sitting on my-"</p>
<p>"STOP"</p>
<p>"Beanbag, I was going to say sitting on my beanbag high off your ass. Get your mind out of the gutter."</p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<p>Mimic posed with a few of their clones for a selfie with two young twin girls, they were so happy and walked away giggling and smiling, "I really hate having my picture taken," they say through a smile to Max.</p>
<p>"Your just mad i'm off duty and your not"</p>
<p>"Silver-"</p>
<p>"Ah ah! Off duty, call me Max."</p>
<p>"I hate you," they deactivate their quirk and the clones vanish.</p>
<p>"I know."</p>
<p>"Why are you following me anyway?" The two begin to walk off toward the food vendors, Max links her arm through Mimic's.</p>
<p>"Watching you suffer like a normal human being is the only thing that gives me joy."</p>
<p>"I'm normal!"</p>
<p>"Not in front of Magma, the second he's in front of you, instantly, you go from a snarky pain in the ass to an annoying loyal ass kisser."</p>
<p>"Hey, my loyalty is why I'm his right hand, when Neil comes back to the task force i'm just another member but maybe I can impress him enough to either become a second sidekick or maybe recommended to another top hero."</p>
<p>Without looking at Mimic, or changing her expression her tone softens, "Does he burn you."</p>
<p>The question caught them off guard, mimic was taken back, unable to answer, not even a lie escaped their mouth. They continued to walk in silence for several minutes until Mimic tries to justify themself. "Magma is under a lot of stress."</p>
<p>"I won't pretend like we're friends, I don't even like you but... You deserve more then what Magma will give you."</p>
<p>Mimic pulls their arm away, "You don't understand. I don't have to explain myself to you! And your right, we aren't friends, so stop following me."</p>
<p>They walk in a huff, Mimics emotions are running rampant but not quite enough to make them want to cry. Distracted they march through the rest of the food vendors. When they walk directly into a young girl. Mimic manages to keep their balance but the girl is knocked down, "Woah now are you alri-" but before finishing their sentence Mimic gets a good look at the girl before them and is stunned into silence.</p>
<p>Clara shakes her head as if to get her bearings, "I'm so sorry!" she hops up as quick as she fell. "I wasn't watching where I was going!"</p>
<p>Mimic stares at the girl, outwardly they are calm and simply look as if they are processing what happened but on the inside Mimic screams. 'I- I found the girl,' she thinks to herself, 'I wasn't allowed to engage with them because Writer was a major threat.' Mimic watches as hikaru helps dust the dirt off her skirt. 'Writer isn't here right now, Writer is in a safe house in Wayford.'</p>
<p>Hikaru and Clara both bow and apologize in unison before walking away, Mimic stares at them intently, 'Magma is being pressured by the commission, he will forgive me for abandoning my post if it means I can get him Writer.' discretely they begin to follow the girls all over the festival.</p>
<p>Nearing three am Hikaru and Clara wait patiently for the others, Hikaru is concerned when only Axel and Blaine show up.</p>
<p>"We can explain!"</p>
<p>Hikaru smacks them both upside the head, "Wheres Aiko?"</p>
<p>"We lost him."</p>
<p>"YOU LOST HIM?"</p>
<p>"WE LOST HIM!"</p>
<p>"How did you lose him," Clara asks.</p>
<p>"In my defense, he was behind us, then he wasn't."</p>
<p>Hikaru smacks blaine again, "He knows to meet up here at three, he's probably just caught up in the crowd or something."</p>
<p>"Okay the thing is," hikaru smacks Blaine again, "LET ME FINISH! We have Aiko's cell, he probably doesn't know its three."</p>
<p>The four sit in the grass waiting for almost twenty-six minutes. With no sign of Aiko Axel stands up, "Mikki is gonna wake up soon, to start prepping the pastries for the cafe. If we don't leave now she'll definitely be awake and hear us sneaking back in."</p>
<p>"We can't just leave Aiko."</p>
<p>"Yes we can, and when he finally realizes what time it is and just comes home we can distract Mikki while he sneaks in."</p>
<p>Hikaru's ears twitch as she growns, "He's never gonna let us forget we straight up abandoned him."</p>
<p>"No, no he will not. But it's either that or we go look for him and face Mikki's wrath."</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Mimic follows the group making sure to stay a few streets behind, they keep track of them by using a bird clone to keep a close pace with the kids. Without anyone directly near them Mimic can't hide their expression. Wide gaping eyes and a smile ear to ear. 'The gods have truly blessed me in my endeavors. Magma pulled me from watching the tracks because they showed no sign of returning and then here they are, gifted right to me on a silver platter. When Magma gets back from their mission in Port Bewilderbeast-" they can't contain their excitement.</p>
<p>Mimic watches from afar as they climb up the fire escape of a small cafe. They pull out their phone and take a photo. Walking away Mimic can't contain themself and begin to verbally laugh as they make their way back to the festival.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>After several hours of waiting Hikaru begins to panic as she paces in Aiko's room, but with the tap of a pebble of the window she quickly signals Blaine to start distracting Mikki. She quickly opens the window and hops out, "Where have you been," she scream whispers.</p>
<p>"Just let down the ladder," he whispers back aggressively.</p>
<p>Hikaru unlatches the ladder and lowers it down slowly, she waits as Aiko climbs up and almost knocks him over in a hug tackle, "I thought you got kidnapped!"</p>
<p>"Who would wanna kidnap me."</p>
<p>Hikaru pulls away abruptly, "Holy shit."</p>
<p>"What?"</p>
<p>"I just hugged you without warning."</p>
<p>"...oh my god."</p>
<p>"You didn't spike you!"</p>
<p>"I can't wait to tell my boyfriend!"</p>
<p>"YOUR WHAT?!"</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0030"><h2>30. The Asset</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Tapa laughed in a way that stole Aiko's breath away, he started walking backwards, "You know you're a pretty chill dude Aiko."</p>
<p>"Trust me it's all an act."</p>
<p>"Yeah, this crowd is kinda suffocating, do you wanna get out of here?"</p>
<p>"But my friends?"</p>
<p>"They're big kids right? Plus you get bragging rights, while they were hanging out at the festival like a couple of normies you got to see the night city with me."</p>
<p>"What's the difference between Night Unity and Day Unity?"</p>
<p>"The reflections," Tapa abruptly grabbed Aiko's hand. Surprisingly Aiko didn't spike him, he willingly let this stranger guide him through and out the festival with no protest. When he finally let go he presented Aiko with his van. Painted on the side was a mural of Mt. Lady laid out on an active volcano.</p>
<p>"You have," he hesitated, "exquisite taste."</p>
<p>"What," he turned to look at his van, "Oh, would you believe me if I said I bought it that way?"</p>
<p>"No."</p>
<p>"Figured, anyway," he opens the door and grabs a small bag and and lighter. With a smile on his face he holds up a joint and lights it. "Festivals are always hella stressful," he takes a long drag and goes to pass it to Aiko who holds their hands up in protest.</p>
<p>"Ah, I, I'm sorry I can't."</p>
<p>"Not a weed guy?"</p>
<p>"No no, it's not that. I uh, I don't do well with things that are lit I guess."</p>
<p>Tapa nods, placing the joint in his mouth as he hops in place taking off one of his boots and socks. He shows Aiko little round scars scattered about the heel of his foot. "I used to be the same way a few years ago." Aiko stares at him stunned, "So it's a fire thing not a weed thing."</p>
<p>"Yeah, my sister usually gets me brownies when I'm super stressed."</p>
<p>He takes a long drag before setting the joint on the roof of the car, he grabs Aiko's chin and tilts his head forward so they can look at each other in the eyes before he slowly exhales blowing the smoke into his face.</p>
<p>Aiko flustered, and never having actually smoked before looked away, sending himself into a coughing fit while leaning on the van.</p>
<p>"Oh shit, my bad, I should have started out small."</p>
<p>He wipes his face, "its okay im fine, lowkey really lame of me though."</p>
<p>"I mean, not really. Way better than how I handled my first shotgun."</p>
<p>He laughs slightly, "How did your first time go if I may ask?"</p>
<p>"Oh I totally coughed so hard I threw up, now that's lame."</p>
<p>"Oh my gods that's so embarrassing, I'd hate to be you."</p>
<p>Tapa walked around to the other side of the van and opened the door for Aiko, "Please tell me that's sarcasm."</p>
<p>He shrugs before hopping into the van, "I don't know, is it?"</p>
<p>"You wound me."</p>
<p>Aiko suddenly has a moment of sudden realization of what he's doing. He's abandoned his friends and is now going to a secondary location with a stranger. Suddenly having trouble breathing his anxiety is visible but he doesn't say anything.</p>
<p>When Tapa gets into the car he actually notices Aiko's sudden shift in attitude, "You know we don't actually have to go anywhere. We can just sit here and chill?"</p>
<p>Shocked he looks up at him, "No its-"</p>
<p>"I won't be mad, I actually want us to be friends, forcing you into a situation that will make you uncomfy won't really help my chances."</p>
<p>Those words lifted an unbearable weight off Aiko's chest. He let himself relax into his chair. Aiko and Tapa talked for hours it started off normal things and stupid questions. Then things escalated into a direction neither planned to go into. They both started talking about their past. Aiko was open about being a runaway and living in Wayward. Tapa was open about his abusive dad and life after his mom left.</p>
<p>Around six am they decided they were starving and ended up going to a diner and sat there and talked for a few more hours eating probably more pancakes than they should have. Tapa paid for everything despite Aiko's protests. Around ten he drove Aiko back but stopped the van about a block away so he could sneak back in.</p>
<p>"This was really fun, thanks for breakfast."</p>
<p>"Can I see your hand?"</p>
<p>Aiko was hesitant but let Tapa take it regardless, with a marker he writes his phone number on the palm of his hand, "There now we can talk and maybe do this officially so I can pick you up and drop you off in front of your house."</p>
<p>"Kinda sounds like you're asking me on a date," he blurts out without thinking.</p>
<p>"I guess, but a date makes it sound like I'm seeing if I want to date you but I'm already positive I know I want too."</p>
<p>His face goes completely red, "O-oh."</p>
<p>"But if you need a few dates before you like me back that's fine."</p>
<p>"I uh, wouldn't, you know....dating is, fine."</p>
<p>Tapa smiles, "So we're dating now." Aiko can't look him in the eyes he's so flustered, "I need an answer Aiko," he leans over with his hand on Aiko's chair.</p>
<p>"S-sure."</p>
<p>"Cool. I will be back tomorrow, so your sister can approve of me."</p>
<p>"O-okay," he unbuckles his seatbelt, "See you then." he hops out of the van and puts his hood up before walking in Waywards direction, making sure to go the back way.</p>
<p>Aiko could see Hikaru pasing in his room so he tosses a pebble at the window to get her attention. She quickly opens the window and hops out, "Where have you been," she scream whispers.</p>
<p>"Just let down the ladder," he whispers back aggressively.</p>
<p>Hikaru unlatches the ladder and lowers it down slowly, she waits as Aiko climbs up and almost knocks him over in a hug tackle, "I thought you got kidnapped!"</p>
<p>"Who would wanna kidnap me."</p>
<p>Hikaru pulls away abruptly, "Holy shit."</p>
<p>"What?"</p>
<p>"I just hugged you without warning."</p>
<p>"...oh my god."</p>
<p>"You didn't spike out!"</p>
<p>"I can't wait to tell my boyfriend!"</p>
<p>"YOUR WHAT?!"</p>
<p>Aiko's face goes red again, "My, my boyfriend."</p>
<p>"What the fuck happened last night, boyfriend," she grabs and wiggles his arm, "No spikes!" she pinches him, "Sending me into a panic! Get inside!"</p>
<p>He rubs his hand and swipes at her, "Okay okay, calm down." climbing through the window he can't help but smile.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Ghost watched as Sapphire and Parker prepared themselves for their mission, "I still don't see the point of this mission."</p>
<p>"Mystery package, a chance to kill Magma, what more of an explanation do you need?" Parker exclaims as she buttons up her usual jumpsuit.</p>
<p>Sapphire puts on her leotard, something she hasnt had the luxury of wearing the past few months. She clicks on her harness that she can attach her sword too. "You worry too much."</p>
<p>"How are you even going to get there?"</p>
<p>She spins a set of car keys in her hand, "Sense Mac left via the drain pipe he left his car round back."</p>
<p>"Parker doesn't even have a drone, and since they already know she's vulnerable to electricity they will focus on her."</p>
<p>"Okay first of all they don't know who I am, I was wearing a mask. They only know you because of Max, and Magma recognized Sapphire. I'm still unknown, for all they know I'm a different lackey. Also with my hair dye coming out I'm a whole new person."</p>
<p>"Exactly!," Sapphire says as she hands Parker a gas mask.</p>
<p>Ghost looks at her puzzled, "Clara made it for me," she fastens it on and pulls her hair through the straps.</p>
<p>"Do you even have a weapon?"</p>
<p>"I wasn't sitting around doing nothing while you were in a coma you know, I made a new staff. No more buttons, it's connected to my implant so even if I'm disarmed they can't electrocute me, in fact I can activate it and electrocute them!"</p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<p>Magma waits patiently at Port Bewilderbeast, he stands at a safe distance from a helicopter pad. To his left is SmokeBomb, to his right a negotiator. "What's taking so long," he asks the woman.</p>
<p>She looks at her watch, "Any minute now."</p>
<p>"I feel like if it was actually minutes away we'd see the helicopter by now."</p>
<p>"Oh Magma, have faith. A transport from tartarus won't be as stupid to fly openly." as she finished her sentence it was as if a helicopter appeared out of thin air as it landed on the pad, "Obviously they'd use someone with a cloaking quirk.</p>
<p>The smoke that usually gathers around SmokeBomb's head is blown away by the sudden winds revealing her buzz cut hair. Once the helicopter's engines cut she pulls out a detonator that sets off small charges filling the surrounding area with a thick fog.</p>
<p>The negotiator waves at the pilot as she approaches. The others wait as she talks to a masked man in a suit. After sometime she materalies a clipboard. He signs a few times before he signals his partner.</p>
<p>The man's partner hops out and behind him is a floating pod. The negotiator waves at Magma to approach, "We have discussed the details, you will have exactly one month," her clipboard vanishes, a new one takes its place. "If you are incapable of capturing Ghost Writer and her associates you will lose all privileges effective immediately, do you consent to these terms?"</p>
<p>"What privileges?"</p>
<p>"You will lose your rank in the top ten, you will no longer have access to the commission's resources, your pay halved, and you will no longer have the protections that came with your rank; Meaning that the commision will no longer support you and cover up your misconduct and treatment of your employees. Do you consent to these terms?"</p>
<p>Magma swallows a lump in his throat, "Before I agree I want to confirm the package."</p>
<p>"That will not be permitted, We are the commission, this is not a backwater deal where we intend to trick you. This man will personally give you the access code to the pod after you consent to these terms. Do you consent to these terms?"</p>
<p>"Yes I consent to the terms."</p>
<p>"Perfect! Sign here," she hands him the clipboard. The second he finishes signing the clipboard vanishes out of his hands.</p>
<p>"The access code is one one two zero one nine eight six, do not write this down have it committed to memory. Do I need to repeat it?"</p>
<p>Magma looks at SmokeBomb, she shakes her head no, "No that won't be necessary." he says stepping toward the pod. "What measures are in place to control the asset?"</p>
<p>A headset appears in the woman's hands, "There is a device implanted into it, it will do whatever is spoken into this microphone. Once it completes a task it will temporarily have free will so make sure to continuously give it tasks. When not in use return it to the pod."</p>
<p>"Why do you refer to them as an it," he says as she hands him the headset.</p>
<p>"Nobody likes a liar." her smile is almost unnerving, "Now these fine men must be getting back to the prison, please load the asset into your transport vehicle before they leave. Don't want our lovely fog being blown away."</p>
<p>Magma glances at SmokeBomb, she nods and moves the pod toward the van, as she loads it in she's very cautious not to so much as scratch the paint.</p>
<p>Once the pod is loaded the helicopters engines turn on and almost instantly vanish. The negotiator looks at Magma, "Well I'm off to go file these contracts I will see you in one month exactly." she vanishes before he can respond.</p>
<p>He sighs, "Start the car, I wanna get back before lunch rush starts.</p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<p>Sapphire pulls up to the toll booth in front of the tunnel, Parker is hiding in the back of the car. She smiles and rolls down the window, "How much is the toll?"</p>
<p>"Sorry ma'am, tunnels closed for maintenance."</p>
<p>She reaches her hand into the back, Parker hands her the staff, "Oh okay, no problem, one thing though." she holds up the collapsed staff, it suddenly extends out the window, once its made contact with the man's chest Parker activates it. He collapses to the floor of his booth and begins twitching. Sapphire leans out the window to look at him, "I think he's having a seizure."</p>
<p>Parker hops into the front seat, "That's not really our problem."</p>
<p>"Yeah you're right," she slams her foot on the pedal and breaks through the gate entering the tunnel.</p>
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